James Lawrence Bennewith (born 15 May 1991), better known as Diags, is an English television personality. He is the longest serving cast member on the ITVBe reality series The Only Way Is Essex, having appeared in the show on a continuous basis since 2012. He also appeared as a contestant on the fifth series of Celebrity Coach Trip in 2019.
Diags | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Lawrence Bennewith 15 May 1991 Waltham Forest, Greater London, England |
| Occupation | Television personality |
| Television | The Only Way Is Essex Celebrity Ghost Hunt Celebrity Coach Trip |
Life and career
editBennewith was born on 15 May 1991 in Waltham Forest, Greater London.[1][2] In 2012, Bennewith joined the cast of The Only Way Is Essex, and has been appearing regularly since the show's fourth series.[3][4][5] He gained the nickname "Diags" due to his diagonal smile in photos.[6][7][8] Bennewith ranked 5th in a Digital Spy readers poll to determine the favourite cast member.[9][10] His time on the show has documented his relationships with Fran Parman and Elma Pazar, as well as his friendship with Chloe Sims.[11][12][13][14][15] Following the departure of mainstay Chloe Sims in 2021, Bennewith became the show's longest serving cast member.[16][17][8][18][19][20] In 2017, he was ranked number 1 on a Digital Spy list of "underwhelming reality television stars".[21]
Bennewith has made various guest appearances on television shows including Sunday Side Up in 2013, Keep It in the Family in 2015 and FHM: The Last of the Lads' Mags in 2016.[22]
In 2018, Bennewith appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Ghost Hunt alongside Roxanne Pallett and Georgia Harrison.[23][24] In 2019, Bennewith was a contestant on the fifth series of Celebrity Coach Trip, alongside The Only Way Is Essex co-star James Argent. The pair were voted off on the penultimate day of the trip.[25][26] In 2020, Bennewith appeared on the BBC dating series Eating with My Ex alongside ex-girlfriend Fran Parman.[27] Outside of television, Bennewith works for his family plumbing business.[28][18]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2012–present | The Only Way Is Essex | Series regular |
| 2013 | Sunday Side Up | Guest |
| 2014 | This Morning | Guest |
| 2015 | Keep It in the Family | Guest |
| 2016 | FHM: The Last of the Lads' Mags | Guest |
| 2018 | Celebrity Ghost Hunt | Contestant |
| 2019 | Celebrity Coach Trip | Contestant; series 5 |
| 2020 | Eating with My Ex | Guest |
References
edit- ^ "FreeBMD Entry Info". www.freebmd.org.uk.
- ^ "The Only Way is Essex on Instagram: "Happy birthday Diags! 🥳 here's to the big: 3️⃣0️⃣! We ❤️ you @diags_ ! #HappyBirthday #TOWIE"". Instagram.
- ^ "TOWIE: Diags, Tom deny quit reports". March 31, 2014.
- ^ "TOWIE boys 'pull girls by offering parts'". Digital Spy. May 31, 2013.
- ^ "'TOWIE' boys slim down and strip off". September 30, 2013.
- ^ "The only way is influx - new faces for season four of TOWIE". Radio Times.
- ^ "TOWIE's not a grass: Diags kicks off". March 19, 2015.
- ^ a b "TOWIE's Diags: his age, transformation, girlfriend and Elma Pazar drama". Closer. October 27, 2023.
- ^ "Your favourite ever TOWIE character revealed!". October 7, 2020.
- ^ "TOWIE preview: Georgia confronts Diags". Digital Spy. March 21, 2015.
- ^ "TOWIE's not a grass: Diags kicks off". Digital Spy. March 19, 2015.
- ^ "TOWIE fans are loving Diags and Chloe's friendship". Digital Spy. October 8, 2017.
- ^ "TOWIE's Diags breaks silence following explosive Elma Pazar row". Closer. November 13, 2023.
- ^ "TOWIE suspends Jon Clark after row with co-star". Digital Spy. September 27, 2018.
- ^ "New TOWIE Cast Defended By Co-Star James 'Diags' After Backlash: 'In Light Of Recent Events, Get Some Positivity Out There'". amp.capitalfm.com.
- ^ "The Only Way is Essex cast: Meet all the season 31 stars". Radio Times.
- ^ "TOWIE: Diags, Tom deny quit reports". Digital Spy. March 31, 2014.
- ^ a b Macdonald, Eve (September 14, 2023). "TOWIE's Diags admits to 'drunken snogs' with co-star behind love interest's back". OK! Magazine.
- ^ "TOWIE's Diags reveals why Chloe Sims 'isn't happy' with him following night on the town". Closer. October 10, 2023.
- ^ by Zoe Delaney, Arike Idris (June 16, 2022). "Diags explains situation after TOWIE stars removed from plane". Essex Live.
- ^ "7 pointless reality stars who really need to step it up". Digital Spy. December 22, 2017.
- ^ "TOWIE on Keep It In The Family: See a funny clip". Digital Spy. August 20, 2015.
- ^ "Celebrity Ghost Hunt returns with host Rylan Clark-Neal and these celebs". TellyMix. September 9, 2018.
- ^ "Roxanne Pallett Breaks Down In Tears During 'Celebrity Ghost Hunt' Appearance". HuffPost UK. September 14, 2018.
- ^ "Celebrity Coach Trip: Meet the line up of celebrities set for the brand new series". 18 October 2019.
- ^ "James 'Arg' Argent branded 'nasty' by Celebrity Coach Trip viewers after he furiously lashes out at Brendan". amp.heart.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC Three - Eating with My Ex, Series 2 - Celebrity Specials, Michael Griffiths and Joanna Chiminodes / Diags and Fran Parman". BBC.
- ^ Veljanovski, Lydia (November 25, 2020). "TOWIE star Diags' job away from the show as he's praised for career". OK! Magazine.