Amy Childs is only 21, yet after her rise to fame in The Only Way Is Essex, she became a highly-powered business woman in her own right.
Juggling a beauty salon, clothing line, TV shows and her new fitness DVD among other projects, Amy manages to stay down-to-earth, telling Flavour that she is still “a normal girl” – although she still maintains her crown as the ‘Vajazzling’ queen. Flavour’s Maz Khan speaks to the reality star-turned-entrepreneur to find out about her latest ventures…
Hey Amy! So, tell us about your new fitness DVD ?
Hey hun! Well, so many girls tweet me asking ‘Amy, how do you stay in shape?’
I’ve always been into fitness, going to the gym and for runs, and I eat sensibly. I won’t lie to you, I do eat sh*t food, but I balance it out. But I had so many women asking me what my routine was; I just thought I had to bring out a DVD.
What makes it stand out from the others?
I wanted to make it very different, not the same as the normal fitness DVD’s. It is really hard, but once you get into it, you really enjoy it. It gets you working hard. I’ve tried other DVD’s and I thought they were too easy. Mine is easy, but it gets harder. That’s what I wanted; something where you are actually working the body and you actually see the difference.
I’ve also put a bit of Essex in there as well, all the catch phrases, I’ve made it entertaining! What I like about the DVD is that even I struggle to do it. I watched it the other day, and yes it is hard, but you feel really good after you’ve completed it. I noticed a difference in my arms after a week.
Out of all of the cast members on TOWIE, you gained the most success. Why do you think that is?
I hate saying this because I don’t want to be horrible, but in TOWIE I was totally myself, I never put on an act, the banter was real. I never bitched about anyone, that’s not me. You know, it’s also about who is managing you.
I left TOWIE in season 2 and everyone was like ‘Amy, it’s the worst thing you can do’ but when I went on Big Brother I got loads of endorsements. My manager Claire told me that once I left, I was offered so much more work than what I did when I was in TOWIE. I’ve always been normal and I’m still a normal girl now. But all of the other cast members have done so well, not just me. It is probably because I left first… who knows.
Do you ever think of returning to TOWIE?
I would maybe like to return to TOWIE in 5 years’ time, the best thing I ever did was leaving. There was a lot of things they stopped us from doing, like I was asked to present ‘This Morning’, but I wasn’t allowed. But the show made me and I will never forget what it did for me, I still love TOWIE and I still watch it. I just think that it was my time to go.
Your new fashion line is amazing. Have you always been so glamorous?
You can ask all my friends, before TOWIE I was a beautician. Even if I have a hangover, I would always put my make up on! I’ve always, always, always been glam. I just do it to feel good about myself. Every morning, I can’t wait to get up and glam myself up. It might sound weird, but I love the eyelashes, the lipstick… it’s just about feeling good about yourself. Even if I am sitting indoors on my own, I have to put my make up on. People say to me ‘OMG Amy, you’ve lost the plot!’
Who or what inspired your fashion line?
I’ve always loved fashion and I’ve always liked to look different. I’m girly, sometimes sophisticated, I like to try a bit of everything. I love Victoria Beckham, her dresses are amazing and she inspired my long, fitted dresses. I would love to send her one of my dresses. I think she would like them because they are very her. There are some really fun, girly bits, like sparkly playsuits. There are items you could wear to Ascot, a wedding, a festival… so there is variety.
I heard you are in talks about a new TV show, is that true?
It is true, yeah, there is a lot going on. I can’t mention a lot, but me and Harry [her cousin] have got a project coming soon which we are so excited about and there may be another show with me and Harry. There is a lot happening with me and Harry because they see the banter – when we were in TOWIE, everyone loved me and Harrys’ energy, it was entertaining. So we are in talks about what kind of show we want to do, but we are not sure which channel to pick as yet.
So we should look out for you on our screens around summertime?
Definitely! Maybe a bit later, as I launch my perfume in September, so there is quite a lot coming up!
How do you cope with your personal life being splashed in the papers?
[Laughs] I’m still a normal girl. Even though the paparazzi are always waiting for me, in London, outside my house, I still do normal things. I still go out for dinner with my family, you know? Sometimes I want to go to the cinema on a Saturday night but you can’t… but look, I’ve got some lovely fans and I have a lovely life, I’m still really close to my family. They say you change when your life is under the public eye but I haven’t changed one bit.
Do you read what is written about you?
When I first came under the spotlight, things I read really made me laugh, like ‘Amy is going out with Peter Andre’ – I was associated with everybody! You just gotta laugh. I was constantly reading ‘Amy was caught with blah blah’ and it’s like ‘what?’ I was indoors last night! In this life, you just gotta get on with it. If you can’t laugh about it, it will just tear you apart.
You are only 21, where would you like to be when you are 25?
I’d love to just be doing what I am doing. The clothing line… I love beauty so I’d love to have salons across the country. I’d also love to launch a beauty training academy, as I’m so into my beauty.
How is the salon going?
OMG the salon is lovely hun! I literally have an 8 week waiting list so it’s really mental!
Is vajazzling still popular?
OMG on a Saturday, no joke, we have a girl in and she is the vajazzle QUEEN! We open 9 – 6 and she vajazzles throughout the whole day. It’s a big thing still; people come down from everywhere to get it done. It’s still mental! I am the vajazzle queen, I am!
Since you have so much going on, where can we find out what you’re up to?
Check out Amy Childs Official to see what I’m up to, or say hello on twitter.
Amy’s DVD, ‘Fit In 30 Days’, is out now on Amazon.