Mark Wright has said his fame has spread across the Atlantic and he has been recognised a few times while filming in Hollywood.

The former star of The Only Way Is Essex has been filming his own ITV2 show, Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights, out in LA, with the reality TV star and a gang of best mates creating some Essex-style mayhem in the sun.

He's thrilled to have been recognised by a few people over in the States: "The UK people over here know us, and even some Americans as they get The Only Way Is Essex on one of their websites. We was in a bar one night and some girls said, 'Oh, it's Mark!'."

As for his own celebrity-spotting, Mark's not done too badly considering he's not been there long.

"I had lunch next to Pink the other day," he said proudly. "And we saw Arnold Schwarzenegger on a bike next to us with his son and bodyguard. It's been amazing."

He's also been to see fellow Brit Vinnie Jones, the footballer-turned-actor who has a mansion in LA's famous Mulholland Drive and runs a local football team.

Mark, who used to play semi-professionally for Tottenham Hotspur, joined in one of Vinnie's matches.

"Vinnie is an absolute gent, he was so polite and lovely to me," he said.

"He had a chat with me, telling me about his Hollywood lifestyle, and gave me man of the match. I didn't go to his house but he said next time I should go over and play poker."

Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights continues on ITV2 on Sundays.