Kirk Norcross has outlined his ambition to return to The Only Way Is Essex to honour his late father Mick Norcross.

The pair were among the original stars of the long-running ITVBe reality show when it launched in 2010, but both of them left at the end of the eighth series in 2013.

In January 2021 Mick was found dead at his Essex home by Kirk, having committed suicide at the age of 57.

Speaking to the That Josh James Show, Kirk said: "I owe it to TOWIE and to my family to show who they have actually raised because what people have seen on TOWIE ain't the real Kirk. I wasn't acting but I just didn't know who I was back then.

"Now that I've lost my father, I would love to show the nation what my dad made. I live my life now every day thinking what would my dad want me to do?

"How would my dad want me to act? TOWIE don't owe me anything, but in a way I think they owe it to let me come on and show the real me. The day my father died everything changed. I became a man that day."

The new series of TOWIE launches on ITVBe this Sunday.