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Mark Wright has come a long way since bursting onto the showbiz scene as the original TOWIE lothario.
The TV presenter, 36, thought to be now worth £10million, was just 23 when he made his debut on the ITVBe series alongside his sister Jess, now 37, and his iconic Nanny Pat, who passed away in 2015, back in the show’s infancy.
Fast forward 13 years, he’s now living in a £3.5million house in the village of Ongar, near Brentwood, Essex, which he’s helped design from scratch with his actress wife, former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan, 35.
The sprawling property set on five acres of land is an almighty upgrade on the house he and Jess were brought up in by mother Carol and car dealer father Mark Senior, alongside brother Josh and youngest sibling Natalya.
They grew up in a four-bedroom home on the corner of a diverse and vibrant part of Ilford, East London, which is thought to be worth £771,000 today, having last been sold in March 2009 for £390,000.
Making the Wright move! How Mark went from a humble terraced home in East London (left) to a £3.5m Essex mansion (right) after building an empire from his TOWIE stint
Making the Wright move! How Mark went from a humble terraced home in East London to a £3.5m Essex mansion after building an empire from his TOWIE stint (pictured with wife Michelle Keegan in January)
The pebble-dashed semi has a large wrap-around driveway and an outhouse at the bottom of the back garden.
And according to a former neighbour, Mark and Jess were notorious for their partying but were well respected by local residents.
Indeed, they once even came to their aid when the pair got locked out of their house.
Speaking to MailOnline, their old Neighbour recalled: ‘They were a nice family, quite noisy, but we got on well with them.
‘Mark and Jess were typical teenagers, they’d go out quite a lot and come home late at night.
‘One day they were in a bit of a panic because they’d locked themselves out. It seemed like the whole community came out to help them.
‘One of the neighbours lent them a ladder and I think it was Mark Jnr who climbed it to reach a top window, which he squeezed through and came down and opened the front door. They were all very relieved.
‘I think the parents moved away from here about 15-years or so ago – just before TOWIE aired on television.’
Idyllic: The garden – which looks like something out of a Hollywood movie – also includes a stunning pool, lying in the middle of a white stone terrace
Summer ready! A stunning snap of the property shows a lavish outdoor area, complete with two cabana sun beds and multiple loungers (right) compared with his former garden (Left)
Tour: Mark recently gave fans a glimpse of the incredible kitchen inside the mansion (right), which was worlds away from his former home (left)
Décor: Mark’s old living room featured tan wallpaper walls and blue sofas
Comfy: A view from another point depicts a flat-screen TV and French doors
Old pad: A bedroom in his former home had orange floors wooden storage units
Looking good: He regularly shares workout videos inside his jaw-dropping gym
Mark and Michelle, who married in 2015, started work on their dream home in 2020, and in September 2022, they were finally able to move in.
The couple were given planning permission to demolish an existing £1.3 million farmhouse and construct a five-bedroom new build complete with a bar, make-up room, gym and outdoor swimming pool.
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Jess, meanwhile, now lives in a £1.4million ultra-modern terraced house in nearby Chigwell.
She recently gave birth to son Presley, her first child with husband William Lee-Kemp.
Jess left TOWIE in 2016 five years after Mark quit to concentrate on his own TV career.
The former nightclub promoter is arguably the reality show’s biggest success story.
One of the show’s original castmembers, Mark enjoyed a previous brush with fame being Jack Tweedy best man at his wedding to Big Brother star Jade Goody, who had terminal cancer, in 2009.
His time on the TOWIE will be remember for his on/off relationship with ex-fiancée Lauren Goodger, his romances with co-stars Sam Faiers and Lucy Mecklenburgh, as well as his close friendship James ‘Arg’ Argent.
Living it luxe: The reality star sprawled out on the lavish bed in his home with Michelle (right), compared with his Ilford house (left)
Rub a dub dub: The couple even have lavish his and hers bathroom inside the property
Stylish: Mark and Michelle’s Essex mansion features a modern bathtub with a giant gold tap
Sculpture: Mark photographed several sculpture pieces including two round urns, an intricate gold statue and a carving of a women’s figure.
Pride of place: A sideboard held photographs of the couple on their wedding day in 2015, bookended by two cream lamps
Lavish: The TOWIE star and the actress moved into their stunning home in October last year and have been documenting their renovations
Working hard: Busy bee Mark is yet to share his home office with fans, however here is a picture of his family’s former place of work
After his shock departure in 2011, he went onto star on the 11th series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! later that year, finishing runner-up to King of the Jungle, McFly star Dougie Poynter.
He bagged his first hosting job the following year by fronting the ITV2 spin-off show to ITV1 dating series Take Me Out, while also filming his own reality series called Mark Wright’s Hollywood Nights alongside his close pals and securing a presenting slot on Heart FM.
In 2014, he featured in BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing – the first and only TOWIE star ever to appear – reaching the final alongside pro Karen Hauer, and three years later attempted to break America, after landing a presenting gig on entertainment news show Extra alongside US host Mario Lopez.
In 2019 he returned to the UK and rejoined Heart FM taking on the evening slot and in 2021 the star filmed documentary Mark Wright: The Last Chance, which followed his bid to make it as a professional football with League Two side Crawley Town.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham youth team prospect, managed to play two games for the West Sussex club, including a third-round FA Cup tie against Premier League outfit Leeds United which was screened live on BBC1.
His other appearance was in a 3-0 defeat by Harrogate Town when he was replaced at half-time.
However, despite his lack of minutes at Crawley Town, Mark has been a valuable member of England’s Soccer Aid side over the past decade in the annual UNICEF matches against The Rest of the World.
Mark’s most recent notable TV work was hosting new Paramount+ series The Challenge UK which was made available to stream last month.
Happy: Mark and Michelle (both far-right) pose for a Christmas group picture with their family
Siblings: Mark and sister Jess are pictured at the Variety Club Showbusiness Awards in 2022
