Lauren Conrad is set for a return to reality TV to reminisce about her time on The Hills for a 10th anniversary special.

The hit MTV docu-series premiered 10 years ago on 31 May, 1996, and the TV personality-turned-fashion designer marked the special occasion by announcing she is letting cameras back into her life for a one-off show, tentatively titled The Hills: That Was Then, This Is Now.

The retrospective will revisit the network's "cultural phenomenon" and "sift through the clutter to address some of the show's best-kept secrets". Meanwhile, Lauren will reveal what it was really like "living her pivotal years on camera".

Conrad, 30, watched the pilot of The Hills for the first time in 10 years to prepare herself for the update, and admitted it wasn't easy.

"Even though I know how it all ends, it was a little difficult watching my younger self struggle - I was in way over my head!," she wrote on her website. "It was odd watching all of us just starting out, with no idea what the future held (although, no one really could have prepared us for what the next few years would bring).

"Looking back, I am grateful for the incredible opportunity we were given to take part in this show. While it was hard at times to share my personal life (poor makeup choices and all) with the world; the experience taught me so much and forever altered my life and my outlook for the better."

Lauren added, "As hard as it is to look back (other than watching the pilot, I haven’t watched any episodes since they first aired), it brings me a lot of joy to see that now, despite all the challenges we faced together back then, each of us seems to have found what we were looking for.

"I am so proud of the show. Without all the amazing people we were lucky enough to have working behind-the-scenes, it would have been just another easily-forgotten reality show."

Lauren began her time with MTV when she featured as a high school senior on Laguna Beach in 2004. Her The Hills spin-off premiered two years later, and featured her new life in Los Angeles, alongside friends Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge and Whitney Port.

Lauren left the series to focus on other career opportunities in 2009, and the show ended in 2010.

The Hills: That Was Then, This Is Now is set to air on 2 August (16).