The eighth series of The Only Way Is Essex, a British semi-reality television programme, began airing on 24 February 2013 on ITV2. The series consisted of 12 episodes. Series 8 marked the first series not to feature Lydia Bright, after her departure from the series in December 2012. The series also saw the departure of numerous supporting cast members and introduced new supporting cast members. On 7 March 2013, Mecklenburgh confirmed via her Twitter account that Amy and Sally Broadbent had been used by the show and had been dropped from the cast.On 8 March 2013 Mick Norcross who has appeared from the second series announced his departure from the show. This series also saw the departure of Kirk Norcross for the second time after announcing on Twitter that he had quit the show on 21 March 2013. Cast member Debbie Douglas also announced her departure from the show via Twitter on 29 March 2013.