All the reasons why the OG Made in Chelsea cast members finally quit the show

To be a cast member on Made in Chelsea is simple: cause as much drama as you physically can at a dinner party, go on a few dates, get a brand deal and leave before anyone can quite remember what trouble you caused in the first place.

But, despite the never-ending revolving door of well-spoken reality stars being spat out onto the show, there are some MIC personalities who’ve stuck in fans’ minds for longer than others.

So, in case you’re wondering why Binky, Caggie, Toff, Hugo, and everyone else from that era hit the road, here are all of the reasons why the OG Made in Chelsea cast members finally quit the reality show:

Spencer Matthews

There was no mourning for a cast member quite like when Spencer Matthews announced he was leaving Made in Chelsea after securing a place on I’m A Celeb in 2015. Although he rapidly got booted out of the jungle for steroids, he still stuck with his decision to pursue other TV career paths away from E4 anyway.

Jamie Laing

Even the self-proclaimed “lost boi” with a Peter Pan tattoo on his arse couldn’t quite withstand the test of time and Jamie Laing announced he’d quit Made in Chelsea in 2021 because he felt “too old” for the reality show. “It was an amazing experience and I loved it and I have a huge amount of respect for everyone that creates that show but for the moment I am stepping back from it,” he said at the time.

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And on a recent episode of Spencer Matthews Big Fish podcast he also revealed mental health was a factor in his decision to leave the show: “I had such bad anxiety doing that show for so many years. I love Made in Chelsea, like you do, and we thought it would be so fun to know what it was like to be famous, we were obsessed with that,” he said.

“I thought, if everyone loves me because I’m some sort of famous, some sort of profile, all of my wanting and need to be loved will be over. But actually what happens is you become famous and it makes it worse because your true friends think you’re a knob.”

“From the very beginning I saw it as a business. The more drama I created, the more girlfriends I dated, or the more times we argued, or whatever it was, the more clout I gained within the show,” he added. “It’s a food chain, the more drama you are causing, the more storyline you are getting, more airtime and so on.”

Caggie Dunlop

As we were told in the very first episode of Made in Chelsea, Caggie is a singer. And she ultimately quit the show to focus on her music career, which, she has now abandoned altogether to host a podcast about authenticity— a serious step away from reality TV.

Hugo Taylor

After publicly humiliating Millie Mackintosh before getting sacked off for rapper Professor Green, Hugo started to become a little bit irrelevant when it came to Made in Chelsea story lines. In the end, he quit and claimed that he’d “outgrown the show” and wanted to be seen as something other than a “reality star”.

Francis Boulle

Even when Francis was on Made in Chelsea he was always talking about another ongoing business venture. Diamonds, art— whatever high value commodity he could get his hands on. And, in the end, Francis left the show to go and do work in Ghana but intermittently returned to poke fun at Jamie when he got the chance.

Millie Mackintosh

Millie chose to leave Made in Chelsea after coupling up with Professor Green because she didn’t want their romance to play out in front of cameras. In a Radio 1 interview, Pro Green confirmed the show “really wasn’t making her happy” anymore. But when Millie and the rapper split in 2016, she returned to her Chelsea roots and got back together with Hugo. Figures.

Stephanie Pratt

Steph suddenly announced she was no longer filming for Made in Chelsea, hours before the latest season was set to air in 2018. Although her agent claimed at the time that the ‘door is open’ for her to make a return, we never saw her in an episode again.

Louise Thompson

One of Made in Chelsea’s longest standing cast members, Louise quit the show in 2019 after eight years to focus on her various health and fitness business ventures. She briefly returned in the subsequent seasons to offer advice to her brother Sam but admitted that filming left her feeling “deflated” because it doesn’t suit her.

Lucy Watson

After coining the most deadly eye roll in reality TV history, Lucy quit Made in Chelsea in 2016 – just before the rest of the cast jetted off to the South of France. In a statement, she said it was “the right time to explore some other exciting opportunities”.

But other whispers said it was so she and her boyfriend James Dunmore (who she married in Greece in 2021) could focus on their relationship in peace. Confirming this theory on Jamie Laing’s Private Parts podcast, she said: “We were arguing more during that time… and then I realised that actually you can’t really be in a happy relationship on that show. I was quite serious with James, so, I was like, actually, I value this.”

Tiffany Watson

When Tiff quit Made in Chelsea, she claimed other projects, like the restaurant she opened with her sister, were the reason she could no longer focus on filming the show.  But it seems like suspicious timing that she walked away right after her long and emotional break up from Sam Thompson.

Georgia Toffolo

Toff basically quit MIC after four years because she got super popular after winning I’m A Celeb in 2017 and wanted to go on to do more presenting work like her current role on This Morning. “Toff is really proud of everything she achieved on Made in Chelsea and is grateful for the platform the show gave her. But now she is eager to focus on new TV projects,” a source said at the time.

Binky Felstead

Binky was the bearer of the first shock Made in Chelsea baby and left the show in May 2017 to focus on the “next big chapter” in her life— aka her child with JP. Every now and again she popped up on E4 for big life events, like Louise Thompson’s engagement, but mostly she’s stayed away from the show after she left.

Rosie Fortescue

Rosie actually never announced why she quit Made in Chelsea but has been throwing everything into her jewellery business since leaving the show.

“It’s quite intense. It’s a shame really as people should just get on,” she told OK of filming the series after her exit.

Cheska Hull

After leaving the show, Cheska admitted that filming for Made in Chelsea gave her “anxiety and depression”.

She told Closer: “Friends told me to just stop [filming] but part of me was scared. I had a degree and an education, but I didn’t know how I could get a serious job after the show. Depression and anxiety were a price I paid for reality TV fame. I was so low, I felt I couldn’t film, but I’d signed a contract. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed. I would dread the thought of walking down the street.”

Gabriella Ellis

Just like Caggie, Gabriella focused on her singing career after quitting Made in Chelsea. Now, she lives in LA and goes by the alias London Ellis. Mostly, she uploads all her singing content, makeup tutorials and vlogs to YouTube and has (classic) dipped her toe into the world of modelling.

Featured image credit via E4 

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