Telly Talk: The X-Factor judges couldn’t stop talking about guilty pleasures at the weekend, with Cheryl Cole admitting that hers was wannabe boy band One Direction.

Well I think I may have one I should own up to – the Only Way is Essex. It’s just chavtastic.

Maybe it’s the upfront honesty during the opening credits as famous Essex girl Denise Van Outen announces the tans may be fake but the people are real, although producers will create certain scenarios for the entertainment of viewers. In other words Real Life Soap.

Now that bit is obvious in some of the “staged” scenes as a host of glamour girls and boys offer up their dating lives up for public consumption. This is about the Essex posse who are groomed to within an inch of their lives. You will never again see so many hair extensions and false nails in 30 minutes of screen time. Even Strictly would struggle to radiate the orange glow this lot emanate.

But it’s the flippant nature of the relationships which makes it such easy viewing, and honestly I’m not being flippant saying that. If you could take these people more seriously you would probably hate the programme along with a temptation to eavesdrop on the stand-up row between wannabe Jordan Amy and potential boyfriend Kirk.

But it was so teenage disco. Having people who would be “over it babe” a few hours later allows viewers to enjoy the spectacle that it is.

Even poor old James – the crooner of the bunch- and his unrequited love for old flame Lydia wouldn’t have you reaching for the tissues but you can’t help wanting to see what happens next, even if it’s just whether Lydia’s blonde up-do could possibly get any bigger.

The fashions are pantomime-esque but the dating issues are all there: Lauren pondering the indignity of losing out to younger model – although at 24 eyeing up the 18-year-old now on her boyfriend’s arm was hardly cause for checking into the heartbreak hotel for Botox.

But it makes for great viewing with all the escapism that comes from getting a snapshot of other people’s lives. I was in New York at New Year when Jersey Shore was literally the talk of the town – a real-life soap which followed the lives of eight housemates in New Jersey. It has been a global success as the most watched television programme on MTV so The Only Way is Essex is in good company.

It’s a pleasure but certainly a guilty one. I mean, I may have enjoyed watching the first few episodes but I’m sure I’m not alone in not wanting to encourage any more Jordan characters on the showbiz scene. I think one of those is most definitely enough.