A deliciously bitchy reality TV series that chronicles the lives of a select group of Cheshire’s wealthiest women, it follows the WAGs as they go about their champagne-fuelled social lives and indulge in endless tweakments, with the odd spot of charity work thrown in.
Known for its long-running feuds, on and off screen, ITV‘s The Real Housewives of Cheshire (RHOC) has been compulsive viewing for a decade.
Now in its 18th series, it certainly gives its sister shows in the US – where the Real Housewives franchise was born – a run for their money when it comes to high drama, boob jobs and designer labels.
It has made household names of many of its stars – not always for the right reasons – and none more so than former model and pioneer WAG, the uber-glamorous Dawn Ward.
From 2015 to 2020, she found herself at the centre of more fall-outs than she’d had manicures – allegedly driving at least one co-star to the point of a nervous breakdown.
Dawn made her name in the county as an interior designer to celebrities and football players. She left the show under something of a cloud to start a new life in Dubai with her husband of 30 years, former Manchester City and Barnsley player turned property magnate, Ashley Ward.
But this week it was announced she’s back to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the show – and what a re-entrance she has made!
In promotional footage, she’s seen jumping out of a giant white cake with a red velvet ribbon wrapped around it, squealing ‘The Queen of Cheshire is Back!’
While cynics may question how much of the Real Housewives drama is authentic and how much is scripted, insiders confirm it couldn’t be more real where Dawn is concerned.
ITV executives believe the rekindling of old tensions will prove a ratings winner, and Dawn’s return has apparently ‘sent shudders down many spines’.
Real Housewives of Cheshire star Dawn Ward and husband Ashley arriving at court for the case against Sinnita Malone
‘It was very stressful and at least two of the housewives suffered bad anxiety because of what was going on [when Dawn was on the programme],’ said a source close to the show.
‘It made for great TV, but being part of it was not good at all. It was toxic and stopped being fun for a lot of people – except, of course, for Dawn. She loved it all.’
Now 51, it will be interesting to see whether time has tempered Dawn’s aggressive, no-nonsense manner, which saw her fall out with so many co-stars that the show’s bosses had to start casting only people they knew she liked to ensure they had a full line-up.
At one point, they were forced to bring in her pals from outside the programme, such as hairdressers Nick Malenko and Royston Blythe, and her on-and-off bestie Rachel Lugo, to make up the numbers.
There are no such measures in place for her return, however, and there are enough of her old foes present to guarantee fireworks. They include Dawn’s former best friend Leanne Brown, a beautician and the ex-wife of England and Manchester United footballer Wes Brown.
The two women were once inseparable. Indeed, their lives were more entangled than anyone could imagine – some of the stories I’ve been told would make your eyes water.
Dawn Ward attends the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball at Grosvenor House
Tanya Bardsley attends the ITV Palooza 2022
Ampika Pickston attends the ITV Gala at London Palladium
Leanne, who was in the original cast, quit in 2018 after a ‘monumental fall-out’ with Dawn. The tantalising finer details of the row weren’t spelled out, although money was said to have been a factor in what became one of the biggest storylines on the show.
‘Leanne and Dawn were very close in the years before they went on the show together,’ said a show insider.
‘They’d go on holidays together and were always hanging out, often with Leanne’s husband Wes. They adored one another and lived a typical WAG life.’
However, it has been reported that Leanne and Wes loaned Dawn £500,000, which she didn’t pay back for some time. A source said: ‘When Dawn is involved, money usually is, too.’
‘You don’t want to get on the wrong side of her,’ another tells me. ‘She will destroy you.’
Leanne later said the bitter feud almost drove her to the point of a nervous breakdown. She also experienced money and relationship troubles after leaving the show. She and Wes, who have three daughters, divorced in 2022 after 25 years together. The following year, Wes was declared bankrupt.
The Real Housewives of Cheshire icon was ‘set for a shocking return after five years’ as the reality series marked its 10th anniversary
Dawn Ward attending the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball at Grosvenor House, in London in May 2017
Leanne currently lives in a modest two-bedroom house – a far cry from her luxurious lifestyle of old – and has rebranded herself as a ‘wellbeing guru’. Now 48, she has previously said of Dawn: ‘Our friendship has gone down the pan. I won’t ever speak to [her] again.’
So, news that the two women are reprising their roles for the milestone series has sent shockwaves through Cheshire’s plush enclaves. ‘There are going to be murders,’ said one source familiar with both women. ‘They haven’t spoken in years – they hate each other. It runs deep; it is vicious.’
Indeed, I’m told Dawn only agreed to return after hearing Leanne had already signed up – prompting speculation her decision was largely based on a desire ‘to wind Leanne up’.
Dawn is no doubt likely to have a strong say in how she is portrayed in the series – a hangover from the extraordinary power she once wielded on the show.
When Dawn previously starred in the show, much of the filming was done at Warford Hall – the £6.5 million Grade II-listed mansion near Alderley Edge, where she lived with her husband Ashley and their four daughters.
While the producers loved having access to the property, with its manicured grounds, vast kitchen and numerous walk-in wardrobes – complete with a ‘handbag stand’ for Dawn’s collection – it also gave the WAG unprecedented leverage.
‘They were terrified of Dawn,’ said a source. ‘They would let her dictate the narrative of the show. It was all about her, and her family and friends.
‘It was very much the Dawn show. It meant bosses treated her differently to the other women, leading to a lot of animosity and resentment.
‘If Dawn wanted someone on the show then she got her way. The producers always bowed down to her demands, but if they wanted Warford Hall then it’s what they had to do.’
Dawn, however, has lost her bargaining chip. She was forced to sell the property after being hit with four county court judgments over unpaid bills totalling more than £62,000.
She was being chased over a £40,255 debt by merchant bank and wealth advisers Close Brothers Group. She also had three more county court judgments against her by unnamed parties – the first for £19,812, the second for £1,270 and a third of £960.
Her husband Ashley, 54, also has a £400 county court judgment against him, according to public records.
It was the latest in a litany of damaging events that have threatened Dawn’s reputation, and another reason she will be keen to maintain an iron grip on how she is portrayed.
In addition to her financial misdemeanours, in 2015 Dawn was involved in an unseemly scrap in a restaurant with 1980s pop star, and Simon Cowell’s ex-girlfriend, Sinitta.
Dawn was charged with assault after the pair came to blows at the Salmontini Le Resto restaurant in London’s Belgravia following a spat. The singer later told the court Dawn ‘shoved her’ in her chest and threatened to ‘glass her with a champagne flute’.
Dawn denied the charge but was found guilty after a two-day trial in 2016. She was bound over in the sum of £500 for three months and ordered to keep the peace.
She was back in court again in 2022, this time facing charges of racially aggravated harassment against two Jewish men following a row at Euston station.
She was also charged with possession of cocaine, after the drug was found in a cigarette box in her bag – which Dawn claimed had been put there by her housekeeper. She was subsequently cleared of all charges.
Dawn Ward is, of course, not the only Cheshire housewife to have found herself before a court.
Last month, model and businesswoman Ampika Pickston, 43 – another of the show’s originals (and no friend of Dawn’s) – found herself in the spotlight over the running of a care home for vulnerable girls which she founded in 2023. It was funded by her billionaire fiance, the West Ham owner – and former porn baron – David Sullivan, 76. After stepping down from RHOC in 2017, Ampika sold sexually explicit photos on online platform OnlyFans for £16 a month, before opening the home in Hale Barns.
Since then, as the Mail has reported, AP Care Homes Ltd has twice been suspended from caring for children by watchdog Ofsted, which uncovered a catalogue of safeguarding failures. It has been shut for the past year.
Ampika is now appealing the closure at a Care Standards tribunal, being held in Warrington.
The panel heard last month how Ampika allegedly made threats against an employee, Natalie Canavan, at the crisis-hit home, telling her: ‘If you say anything to Ofsted, my colleagues at Real Housewives of Cheshire, or the media, I will stab you in the eye with a fork.’
Ampika denies this, and a final decision about the home’s future will be made later this month. She, too, is back for the 18th series.
Yet another WAG, Tanya Bardsley, wife of former Manchester United player and Macclesfield FC assistant manager Phil Bardsley, is also returning for the anniversary.
A favourite with viewers, the outspoken but amiable Tanya, 43, largely managed to remain on good terms with other wives, but she fell foul of Dawn because of her friendship with Leanne.
Lauren Simon, who appeared on last year’s Celebrity Big Brother, is another Dawn ‘scalp’.
A PR executive who doesn’t pull her punches – and who famously claims to have had sex with a ghost – Lauren would flit from being Dawn’s best friend to her bitter enemy and back again.
Currently, their friendship seems to be back on, and they both follow each other on Instagram – perhaps united by their mutual money and legal troubles.
For Lauren, 53, has faced legal battles of her own, due to an acrimonious divorce from her wealthy property developer ex Paul.
Back in 2021 Lauren famously set fire to her wedding dress on RHOC as she celebrated the end of her marriage.
She said she’d been left ‘destroyed’ after eight years of wrangling ended in her getting none of her multi-millionaire ex’s money.
But this was not the end of her woes, as she was dragged back to court by the company which lent her the money to pay her lawyers.
The firm, Integro Funding Limited – trading as Level – claims the former couple entered into a ‘collusive agreement’ to avoid paying the £1.2 million bill Lauren owes the company.
The divorce battle finally ended at the High Court last summer, with Lauren facing bankruptcy over the unpaid bill.
With such a colourful cast of characters and their screen and real-life dramas, The Real Housewives of Cheshire certainly makes for tantalising television – and this anniversary series is shaping up to be a corker.
ITV will no doubt be celebrating the ratings even as the fur flies and nerves frazzle anew.
Best get the popcorn in!