WEST BAY was given a touch of Essex glamour when reality TV star Samantha Faiers visited for some Broadchurch sightseeing.

The fashion, health and beauty entrepreneur and former ‘Only Way Is Essex’ cast member took plenty of snaps while she visited the area, posing in front of the home many Broadchurch fans know as DI Hardy’s cottage.

Miss Faiers and her guests then enjoyed a spot of lunch at the Hive Beach Café near Burton Bradstock, where she recommended the restaurant to her 1.28m Twitter followers.

Tim Attrill from Harbour News said the celebrity even popped into the newsagents for an ice-cream and a chat.

He said: “She was doing a Minnie’s Boutique pop-up event in Southampton at the weekend, so she wasn’t too far away.

“Her family love Broadchurch and all watch it together, and she knew me and my wife lived here too, so she came down to see where Broadchurch was filmed.

“She’s absolutely brilliant; a really down-to-earth, lovely girl.

“She also said our ice-cream was the best in West Bay.”

Part of Miss Faiers’ West Dorset visit included working on ‘Celebrity Training’ – her joint venture with Bridport’s Luke Hayter and Nicole Attrill, Tim’s wife.

Miss Faiers said: “I loved my visit to West Bay, I’m a massive fan of the television show Broadchurch. I’ve got friends and business partners based in West Bay so it was amazing to come down and see the sights myself.

"I’m planning to come down in the summer with my sister Billie and my niece Nelly as I heard the beaches are beautiful.”

Miss Faiers’ said she was really excited to be working with Luke and Nicole on their health and fitness website project. She said: “As I lost a dramatic amount of weight from Crohn’s disease, I feel stronger than ever since working with the team.”

Luke and Nicole have developed ‘Celebrity Training with Sam Faiers’ as health and fitness website.

Personal trainer Nicole and Miss Faiers head up the exercise tutorials and there is a food and diet section.

At the launch of the business last year, Luke and Nicole said: “We are thrilled to be launching our new business venture ‘Celebrity Training with Sam Faiers', it’s a great website and we have worked hard to make sure the workouts are challenging and fun at the same time.”

“Launching our website with Sam Faiers is brilliant.”