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Jamie Laing: 'Fame is nonsense, you can't do anything with it'

Jamie Laing attending the National Television Awards 2021 held at the O2 Arena, London. Picture date: Thursday September 9, 2021. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
Jamie Laing attending the National Television Awards 2021 (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)

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Jamie Laing says he made the most of his time on Made In Chelsea by planning ahead for his future beyond the show.

Speaking to Kate Thornton on White Wine Question Time, Laing said: "For me when I was doing Made in Chelsea I knew exactly what my destination was. I knew I wanted to talk about sweets. I knew I wanted to continue in this entertainment space and present and all that different stuff.

"Most people who go and do reality shows just go: 'I'm gonna be famous.' And then they get fame and they can't do anything with it because they're just famous and fame is nothing.

"It's nonsense, you can't do anything with fame! So that's what I realised."

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He added that his reasons for continuing with Made in Chelsea were different from others in the show. He said: "I always saw Made In Chelsea as a career and most people didn't, and that was the difference.

"People went into it saying: 'This will be a lot of fun, we get paid to hang out with our mates and travel the world and we get to experience some sort of fame, isn't this quite fun to experience?' For me I was like: 'This is what I want, to go into TV.'

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"I saw it as a career, so from the beginning was like: 'Okay, this is what I need to do.' And I'm pretty persistent with things. The reason why I stayed in so long and and was able to drag myself out is because I had a destination."

Listen to the full episode to hear Jamie talk about how he's not as rich as people think and why good relationships are so important

He talked about how the experience of writing his autobiography made him realise the difference between what people want in life and what actually make us happy. He said many people pursue fame and money but that really loyalty, respect and good relationships are what make us truly content.

He said: "I remember sitting in a flat and I was about to go and film Made in Chelsea in the south of France. I remember thinking who should I phone?

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 27:  Jamie Laing, Binky Felstead, Stevie Johnson, Oliver Proudlock, Lucy Watson, Rosie Fortescue, Spencer Matthews, Louise Thompson, Riley Uggla and Mark-Francis Vandelli of 'Made In Chelsea: New York'  visit The Empire State Building on June 27, 2014 in New York City.  (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)
The cast of 'Made In Chelsea: New York' visit The Empire State Building in 2014. (Photo by Noam Galai/WireImage)

"And I remember thinking well I haven't spoken to that friend for a while, I haven't spoken to my brother in a while I haven't done this and done that.

"And thinking, God I've really pushed people away. Just because I wanted to have fun and focus on me all the time and that leaves a sort of sadness in your wake. Writing the book I realized all that."

He added: "Because I was on a reality show my problems and mistakes were documented. So people will then have a judgment. Most people's stuff isn't documented, they either hide it, or it's a small group of friends, or no one knows at all. And so it's very easy to judge me."

Buy it: I Can Explain by Jamie Laing | £10 (Was £18.99) from Amazon

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