TOWIE starts Ferne McCann and Sam Faiers were always thought to be the best of pals.
But the friendship was shaken to its core last year when a series of voice notes were leaked in which Ferne appeared to take aim at Sam, her sister Billie and even her ex Arthur Collins' acid attack victim Sophie Hall.
Ferne contacted the police after the voice notes surfaced on an anonymous Instagram account, and hit back when the comments purporting to be about Collins and his victims surfaced.
In a lengthy Instagram statement, she apologised to Sophie Hall for having to "relive that night and the pain that followed."
Ferne - who will address the drama on This Morning today - admitted she had said "things that are untrue", but said her words came out of fear and had been 'manipulated'.
"The voice messages that are being released are manipulated, edited and taken entirely out of context.
"Even so, I will have said things that are untrue and I do not believe - but I did so to protect my family and myself from serious harm and in the face of significant threats."
An Essex Police spokesperson told the Mirror at the time that the matter was subject to a police probe.
"We are investigating a report of malicious communication which was made to us in Brentwood on Thursday 29 September," the spokesperson said.
"We have spoken to the victim, a woman aged in her 30s, and our enquiries are ongoing."
So what did Ferne, who recently confirmed she is pregnant with her second child, appear to say in the voice notes?
Firstly, Ferne supposedly made a series of comments about her former best pals Sam and Billie, allegedly calling Sam a "fat c***".
"Sam Faiers is a fat c***. Her thighs are so big and I looked really skinny today and... yeah," Ferne was allegedly heard saying.
In a second voice note, Ferne appeared to call mum-of-three Sam a narcissistic b***h'.
"That's the sort of girl that she is. She's just a narcissistic b***h. She honestly won't care," Ferne can be heard saying.
"It's an exact copy. It's just so sh*t on people that have worked hard to just - because she has a big following. It's just ridiculous. It's out of order," she added.
In another supposed leaked voice note, Ferne was accused of hitting out at Billie for giving her son the same name as her jailed ex Arthur.
Weeks later the anonymous account leaked another voice note, where Ferne was alleged to have made comments about her ex Arthur's acid attack victim Sophie Hall.
The post claimed the voice heard calling Sophie a 'ugly f***ing c***' was Ferne's, talking about a dress Sophie wore made out of headlines about the attack to a beauty pageant.
Ferne later released a statement, where she said: "I am aware that people will have a number of questions about the voice messages being put into the public domain and purportedly sent by me.
"I feel I have no choice but to address these (to the extent that I can as there are restrictions on me which I explain below).
"Most importantly I want to apologise to all the victims of Arthur Collins's abhorrent actions in 2017 that they have to relive that night and the pain that followed because this matter is again in the public domain.
"In particular, I want to apologise to Sophie Hall. I do not believe her to be ugly or stupid. She has been brave beyond belief."
Ferne continued: "Arthur Collins' crimes created genuine victims so I am not trying to portray myself as one."
The statement was later blasted as 'insincere' by Sophie, who said: "Ferne has blocked me on Instagram, so I couldn't even read her 'apology'. I wonder how many other acid attack victims she has blocked?
"To me her words feel so insincere. Ferne is simply trying to salvage her career. I don’t think she is sorry at all," she told The Sun.
It is not known what triggered the voice notes or who Ferne is said to have originally sent them to.
In the wake of the first message, Sam and Billie's shocked mum Suzie issued a statement labelling the voice notes as 'vile' as she said her entire family was baffled as to why Ferne would say such 'horrible' things about her friends.
Suzie claimed the voice notes were allegedly sent by Ferne just months after Sam gave birth to her third baby Edward.
"So after a few days of hurt and upset I can no longer sit back and say nothing," she began.
"This vile voice note has been circulating social media, and now Press articles calling it a 'feud' which it is not. This has come as a complete shock to myself and my family.
"Ferne has always been a very close family friend to all of us for over the past 20 years. It appears this voice note was sent just weeks after Samantha gave birth back in May.
"Since this voice note has surfaced more have been sent - very upsetting nasty things. We are as shocked as you are! Nobody should ever speak about their friends like this ever.
"My girls are my absolute everything and I'll do anything to protect them. I don't have anything to say on the matter."
And a friend of Sam's told The Mirror that the star was equally devastated.
"Naturally Sam is incredibly hurt and upset by these comments, especially from someone she considered to be a good friend," the source said. "She's at a loss as to why Ferne has decided to speak out about her in such a derogatory way."
After the voice notes circulated online, many jumped to Ferne's defence and questioned whether the notes were they seemed.
"She could be talking about anyone in showbiz," one doubtful user asked.
Another user asked: "There is no context though?"
One person pointed out it could be 'someone with a vendetta' as there's no context with the voice notes.
"Sounds like she’s repeating what someone else has said if you ask me!" another intrigued user explained.
A Twitter user added: "That Ferne McCann voice note about Sam Faiers sounds like she's reading something, or talking about a hypothetical scenario? Context is everything!"
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The new series of Ferne McCann: First Time Mum is available on ITVBe and ITVX on 15 March at 9pm
