TV bosses planning live Christmas TOWIE

Bosses at ITV are reportedly planning a live episode of The Only Way Is Essex at Christmas.

Viewers may even see fan favourite Amy Childs make a shock return in the festive show - but chiefs are determined to avoid disaster by banning the stars from downing booze.

A source tells The Sun, "Doing an episode live is a high-risk strategy but everyone is excited about it.

"We've banned any booze because we don't want any funny business happening. The last thing that we need is them all getting a bit of Dutch courage and it ending up kicking off."

However, the insider added, "Nothing has been decided yet - even the cast don't know they're doing this."