"Liverpool, the Pool of Life, centre of the universe, no contest. Why live anywhere else when you've got it all here?" Jodie Lundstram mused in the opening scene of the first - and only - series of Desperate Scousewives.
Liverpool may have given the world The Beatles, Brookside and the most famous amateur sleuth to ever live, Wagatha Christie aka Coleen Rooney, but the trailblazing city in northwest England has never really set the world of reality TV alight.
Back in 2011, following on from the success of shows like Geordie Shore, The Only Way Is Essex and Made in Chelsea premiering, Liverpool aimed to get in on the action with their offering, the ill-fated Desperate Scousewives.
While the E4 series only ran for eight episodes before being cancelled due to poor ratings, a few stars have the show to thank for giving their career a boost and going on to bigger and better things.
Elissa Corrigan
While the majority of the cast of Desperate Scousewives seemed destined for a life lived out on reality TV, Elissa Corrigan appeared to be an unusual signing for the series.
Already a successful journalist before the E4 series, Blackburn-born Elissa would have been more suited to writing about the ill-fated show rather than appearing on it - but that was exactly why she appeared on the show.
"I thought 'Wouldn’t it be a good story to expose how you get on a reality show?' TOWIE was huge at the time and Geordie Shore had just kicked off," Elissa recalls to the Mirror when looking back on her time on Desperate Scousewives.
"I thought it would be great to play along and go through the process and do a first person piece on how to get picked for a reality TV series."
Elissa did exactly what she set out to do after starring on the show - penning a piece "explaining just how scripted that reality show was. It was about as real as Brookside" - but she has no regrets about her stint on reality TV.
She even went on to star on a very different type of reality TV show a few years on from her Desperate Scousewives days - Bear Grylls Treasure Island.
"It’s not the type of show where anyone goes on it to be 'famous' - I genuinely could care less about any of that. I’ve been trying to get rid of the Desperate Scousewives tag for years," Elissa declares when explaining her reasons for signing up to the limit-pushing series.
"This was a really well respected, credible show. I wanted the cool experience of living on a desert island, losing a ton of weight and getting a mega tan," she adds before recalling her journey on the show as "brutal" but ultimately "a thrill".
These days Elisa is living her best life as the proud mum of her first child, following the birth of her daughter last month, but the savvy star has also been busy nurturing the success of her first business baby over recent years.
Using the money bagged on the island with Bear, Elisa created and founded Elle Sera - a natural hormone supplement for women to support mind, body, soul- so has no time to return to reality TV these days.
Explaining how running Elle Sera requires her to be "honest and have integrity", the mum-of-one adds: "I wouldn’t try to harm my credibility by going on another TV show, where I’m told to act out lines, perform for the camera and bull**** the audience into thinking it’s your reality.
"It was fun while I did it. It’s a great dinner party story. Sometimes people still remember me from it. But like all fond memories - it’s better left in the past."
Amanda Harrington
Amanda Harrington was already pretty well known in the local area before Desperate Scousewives enjoyed its brief stint on TV.
Thanks to starting a successful modelling career at the age of 16, the mum-of-one was the perfect candidate to lead Liverpool’s attempt to offer reality TV fans something from the north west region.
After Desperate Scousewives failed to land a second series, Amanda continued to enjoy a career in the world of showbiz and still pops up at star studded parties - most recently Charlotte Dawson’s Gatsby-inspired 30th birthday bash.
These days Amanda describes herself as a former model and is focussed on her weight loss and wellness company called ZeroFat, which is stocked in Harvey Nichols.
During the lockdowns throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the savvy reality TV star got cooking in the kitchen and went on to launch her very first book, titled At Home With Miss Harrington - jam-packed with over 90 recipes and the Scouse star's home cooked creations.
Jodie Lundstram
"Liverpool, I'm backkkkk," Jodie Lundstram screamed on the steps of Lime Street train station as she returned to her hometown on the E4 series following a stint in London.
The woman who introduced the country to Scouse Brows thanks to her appearance on Desperate Scousewives has since gone onto carve out a successful career for herself in the beauty industry 11-years on from her time as a reality TV star.
According to the star's Instagram bio, Jodie is currently studying for her second degree and is the proud founder of Viva Aesthetics and a company that sells 'high quality mink false eyelashes'.
In her personal life, is a doting mum to two young daughters. Her eldest, Viva, turned six in June and baby Stella was born in January 2020.
Chloe Cummings
Chloe was keen to follow in her famous cousin Abbey Clancy's footsteps when she graced our TV screens on Desperate Scousewives over a decade ago.
E4 viewers watched as Amanda took the young wannabe model under her wing, with her cousin Sean Clancy also appearing on the show to act a protective figure watching over Chloe.
After Desperate Scousewives came to an end, Chloe qualified as a nurse and enjoyed a stint on Britain's Next Top Model - just like her famous cousin.
These days, the former reality TV star is kept busy running her Liverpool-based aesethics business and raising her seven-year-old daughter, Sienna Rose.
Gill and Debbie O'Toole
Sisters Gill and Debbie appeared on the show together, with their storyline revolving around Gill's desire to settle down and tie the knot.
Prior to appearing on the short-lived E4 series, Debbie, like many of her castmates, was already enjoying a successful career as a model, having previously holding the Miss Liverpool title.
The star jetted off to Las Vegas in 2015 to represent England in the Miss Tropic Beauty bikini competition and came third out of 100 women.
Since Desperate Scousewives wrapped, the former beauty queen has founded her own fashion business and works as a beauty therapist.
Big sister Gill also founded her own business, a jewellery company, and returned to her previous career as an estate agent.
Layla Flaherty
Layla, like co-star Elissa, was another Desperate Scousewives cast member who didn't originally hail from Liverpool.
The Irish model and actress has remained in the world of reality TV following the E4 series being cancelled, most recently appearing on an episode of Real Housewives of Cheshire.
In June 2012, Layla took part in the third series of TV3's Celebrity Salon, alongside the late Nikki Grahame, Philip Olivier, Glenda Gilson, and others, and had the best celebrity fall of all time later in the year when she attended the an Essex Polo event.
Layla also set up a dog modelling business called Urban Paws UK following her time on Desperate Scousewives, which was the reason for her cameo on Real Housewives of Cheshire in 2015.
The former reality TV star's pet supermodels have also worked for labels including Tom Ford, Burberry, Gucci and Stella McCartney, and even appeared in music videos for global stars like Rihanna and Little Mix.
Chris and Mark Johnson
Married couple Chris and Mark Johnson won many fans during their time as supporting cast members on Desperate Scousewives, but it appears the pair have since split.
The former couple ran a salon together during their brief stint on the one series of the E4 series, and opened a brand new site one year on from Desperate Scousewives getting the axe.
"This was our whole reason for going on the show," Chris told the Liverpool Echo at the time. "Being in the spotlight had never interested me before, but I had a business to promote and I saw it as a great opportunity to do that."
Chris currently runs Metamorph Haus in Liverpool, marketed as a transcendent super salon and spa, while Mark describes himself as a "tv personality radio columnist and all round dude" on his Twitter account these days.
Jaiden Micheal
"Even though it was only for a few months, I’m so glad I got to be part of @Channel4 ‘s show. Happy birthday babes," Jaiden tweeted earlier this month, as Channel celebrated its 40th anniversary.
The former reality TV star appeared on Desperate Scousewives as 'Britain's Most Brutal Blogger', thanks to his savage celebrity gossip site often taking aim at famous figures.
These days, Jaiden is still active on Twitter - where he often runs competitions to raise money for charity - and often looks back on his time on reality TV.
"I beg casting directors to cast scouse actors/actresses as scouse people. These accents are making me cringe. Worse than Scousewives #TheWalkIn," the Widnes-born star tweeted earlier this year, poking fun at his past life as a reality TV star.
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