Dubai tipped to be TOWIE movie location

Dubai is reportedly to be the location for the big-screen version of hit UK TV series The Only Way Is Essex.

UK tabloid The Sun reported on Friday that show bosses want to jet the cast off to the UAE city, with filming possibly starting within a few months.

The Only Way Is Essex, often abbreviated as TOWIE, is a British BAFTA award-winning television show based in Essex, England.

It purports to show "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way", with  shows filmed just a few days in advance of broadcast.

According to the Sun, previously departed stars of the show such as Mark Wright and Amy Childs could be welcomed back into the fold for the movie.

An insider told the paper: "There have been rumours of a TOWIE film for a while but bosses have now finally talked to the cast about it.

"Dubai would be the perfect place as it is the current hip destination for young Essex boys and girls and it would be a great sunny location to film in."

In December, Dubai launched a new initiative announced by Dubai's Crown Prince in May to attract international movie makers to the emirate.

Following an inaugural board meeting earlier this year, the Dubai Film and TV Commission was launched at the Dubai International Film Festival.

The commission, originally revealed by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, aims to promote Dubai as a leading film and production location.

The emirate's Burj Khalifa was famously used in part of Tom Cruise's latest Mission Impossible blockbuster.