James Lock believes ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ fans aspire to be like the cast.
The hunk insists he didn’t join the reality TV show to become famous as he’d much rather have success, and he believes viewers are keen to follow in their footsteps.
He said: "I don’t like how people assume that reality TV stars are just fame hungry. Personally, I’m not fame hungry. I’m success hungry.
"All reality stars seem to get tarred with the same brush, but shows like ‘TOWIE’ and ‘Made in Chelsea’ are in a league of their own. Look at all the boys who’ve copied Joey’s [Essex] style, or the girls with Lucy [Mecklenburgh]. People aspire to be us."
James doesn’t think other reality shows compare to ‘TOWIE’, and slams MTV’s ‘Geordie Shore’, which is based in Newcastle and ‘The Valleys’, which is based in Cardiff, whose fans laugh "at them".
He explained to Gay Times magazine: "With something like ‘The Valleys’, they’re laughing at them, not with them. And ‘Geordie Shore’ is very seedy. It’s just a house full of idiots being videod and getting pissed.
"’The Valleys’ is an absolute joke. The thing is you meet them and think they wont be as bad in real life, but I’ve met a couple of the girls are they’re really bad. I don’t mean this in a snobby way, but they’re just not the sort of people you want to associate with."
James Lock: TOWIE fans want to be us
