The Sloaney way is Chelsea

If their faces seem familiar, it's probably because they've been papped falling out of Mahiki behind Chelsy Davy after one too many coconut grenades.

But now the Posherati are lifting the lid on what goes on in London's elite social circuit for new reality TV show, Made in Chelsea.

Channel 4's upmarket antidote to the vajazzling ways of The Only Way Is Essex charts the lives of a set of well-heeled, privately educated twenty-somethings as they quaff champagne in Raffles and take long lunches at Megans on the New King's Road.

But behind the posh accents, fast cars and expensive holidays they all have ambition to equal their bank balances.

Entrepreneur Amber Atherton runs her own online jewellery boutique, whose customers include Cheryl Cole, while Francesca Hull is an aspiring Carrie Bradshaw-style columnist. Blonde Caggie Dunlop has chart stardom in her sights.

An ex-flame of Princess Eugenie, Hugo Taylor, 24, says: "There's more to life than polo and riding horses. I'd love to own my own Formula One racing team." Others in the clique of 12 main characters include Ollie Locke, VIP host at favourite royal hangout Whisky Mist, and Old Etonian Spencer Matthews, who once counted Simon Cowell as a neighbour. But what's sure to set tongues wagging are the love triangles and rivalries that emerge between the characters. Francis Boulle, diamond broker, says: "Some people come to Chelsea to try to make it and break into that circle. The viewers aren't stupid, they'll see who they are - it's a colourful bunch of people."

Made in Chelsea begins May 9 on E4 at 10.15pm and runs for eight weeks.

EURO SLOANE
Francis Maximilien Yvan Boulle, 22
Profession: IT and diamond entrepreneur. Runs six businesses from his Knightsbridge offices and plans to "invest in a few more".
Made in Chelsea? He's from a diamond mining dynasty and cites his interests as "gems and polo". While he is of French, Norwegian and Cherokee descent and was conceived in Tokyo - "if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty" - he was brought up in Chelsea, as well as New York, Dallas and Mexico.
Plays: The brains. Describes himself as a "charming, objectivist, polymath - I'm more erudite than other people in the show". His dream dinner party guests are JD Rockefeller, Alexander the Great, Anshel Rothschild, Albert Camus and Ayn Rand. We said dinner party, Francis ...
Controversy: Inside his Savile Row straitjacket lurks an anarchist. He was expelled for hacking the school IT system and changing pupils' reports. Also ordered 7,000 crickets and locusts from a live-bait website and released them in the front hall of his house.
Big spender? "It's terribly vulgar to talk about money." Asked us to say his watch is IWC Schaffhausen Vintage.
Posh-o-meter: Went to the Oratory School, Oxfordshire, doesn't take buses, and could give the Queen elocution lessons.
Found Princess Charming? Deemed a "helluva ladies' man" by Tatler, he cast his spell over Emma Watson at the Cartier Polo bash in 2008. Now smitten with Caggie.
Hunting ground: Public or The Box. And he asked us to mention his Twitter address - @francisboulle.
Sloane's slogan: "Gain as much as you can, save as much as you can, give as much as you can."
Most likely to: Get in cahoots with Julian Assange to expose polytechnic unis eroding the value of learning Classics.

STUD SLOANE
Hugo Louis George Taylor, 24
Profession: Full-time party PR man for Bourne Capital.
Made in Chelsea? A thoroughbred. Born in the Belgravia Hospital; Sloane Square has never been far from sight.
Plays: The stud, though he claims to be the "moral compass for others". Sadly his skirt-chasing reputation precedes him. Describes himself as "loyal, ambitious and selfish".
Controversy: He's already kissed two of the cast. Has been linked with Princess Eugenie and riled Prince Harry by getting a little too close to Chelsy Davy at Chinawhite ("I doubt Harry even cared"). Also says Pippa Middleton is "really, really beautiful". Again, watch out, Harry.
Big spender? Despite eating and partying at London's swankiest joints for free through his job and taking the bus everywhere, he still gets through £300 a week. "I have a Nike high-tops addiction," he says, bashfully.
Posh-o-meter: An Old Harrovian; daddy is one of just 14 solicitors to have been made a Queen's Counsel. Mum works at Christie's.
Found Princess Charming? "The jury's still out on that one." He's after Amber in the show but we've heard rumours Hugo may also have a history with a certain blonde member of the cast
Hunting ground: We get the feeling Hugo could probably pull on the A40 but his favourite clubs are The Phene and Ziani.
Sloane slogan: "Be happy and true to yourself - life isn't all pink shirts and ponies."
Most likely to: Open King's Road's answer to the Playboy Mansion.

TURBO SLOANE
Amber Simone Atherton, 20
Profession: Runs online jewellery boutique My Flash Trash.
Made in Chelsea? Heavens, no. Went to Benenden School in Kent but was raised in Hong Kong. Spends most of her time in Shoreditch. Cynical about the Chelsea set but eager to flog her jewellery to them.
Plays: The intelligent outsider. She describes herself as "ambitious, sociable and prone to exaggeration".
Controversy: Claims never to have been in trouble - apart from skipping school for a jaunt to Paris. Her swankiest moment was attending Paul Allen's Octopussy Party in Cannes, which guests are famously banned from talking about. "It was very sleb-dense,"
she says.
Big spender? "I'm quite frugal, I take eco-cabs and make investment purchases. I think Primark promotes a bad state of mind."
Posh-o-meter: Went to school with Lady Kitty Spencer: "We had an indoor pool and the Spencers only had an outdoor pool, so in winter they would always come over." Named one of Tatler's Babes of the Year.
Found Prince Charming? Bit of an ice queen. When our photographer asked: "Would it be too suggestive if you sat on Hugo's knee?", she replied: "Uh, yah." Would rather date a businessman than a celeb.
Hunting ground: The Box and Shoreditch House.
Sloane slogan: "Work hard, play hard."
Most likely to: Design the wedding dress of Kate and Wills's first daughter.

PARTY SLOANE
Caggie Mary Dunlop, 22
Profession: Singer/actress.
Made in Chelsea? Educated at the Harrodian School, then Wellington College, she's a Chelsea girl but we suspect Caggie has had the odd wild night on WKDs. A people's princess and likely to win viewers' hearts.
Plays: The sultry songbird - she wants to be a "sexy Adele". More gossiped about than gossiping, Cags describes herself as "cheeky, fun and loyal".
Controversy: She parties hard and during her time in New York got rather close to a British actor whose debut film is just about to be released - but is keeping shtum about his identity.
Big spender? It's a hand-to-mouth existence being an aspiring pop starlet. She takes the bus, dresses in Zara and says if she doesn't have money, she's fine. On average, gets through £150 a week.
Posh-o-meter: Studied at the Lee Strasberg Film and Theatre Institute in New York. Both parents are high-flyers in the world of business - "My mum's a feminist. She says the worst thing I could do is marry a rich man and let him keep me."
Found Prince Charming? Several. A couple of the Made in Chelsea men are fighting over her. But she admits there is only one member of the cast she'd like to kiss - and it's not the Sloane she has already locked lips with.
Hunting ground: Bluebird on King's Road.
Sloane slogan: "Do as you would be done by."
Most likely to: Launch a Swarovski version of vajazzling, complete with matching perfume.