We no longer have to suffer the loss of not having Love Island on our screens every evening, as ITV2’s top reality show is back for its winter series!
We are in for a treat, with gorgeous singletons providing endless entertainment and gripping drama, with our favourite steamy challenges and of course, all whilst watching them all in their quest for love.
It has been a couple of years since the first Love Island filmed in South Africa, and since then, there’s a brand new villa oozing luxury.
There is also a twist this year, with brand new host Maya Jama filling the role in place of Laura Whitmore. Laura hosted three fabulous series of Love Island and she will be missed, but we are excited to have a fresh presenter for a fresh new season! Maya will no doubt bring fun, sass, and lots of gorgeous slow-motion walking!
This year, the Love Island bosses are making sure to put measures in place to protect against trolling and online hate. They are doing this by stopping the contestants’ social media accounts from being active whilst they’re in the villa.
Although this may slow down social media growth for the islanders, we are excited to see if this will allow for a more positive experience for them, their families, and their social media accounts in the future.
This year, there is also a twist with how the first bombshell will be introduced, as the public have been voting for whether they want contestant Tom Clare or Ellie Spence to join the villa. We look forward to seeing who will walk through those villa doors and ruffle some feathers!
As we all eagerly await the first episode, let’s look at this year’s contestants who will be entertaining us for the next few weeks.
Will Young
Will is a farmer and social media content creator from Buckinghamshire, already popular from his videos on TikTok shearing his sheep! With having such a busy schedule, having time to purely focus on finding love is what Will wants, so living in a luxurious villa with other gorgeous singletons doesn’t seem like a bad way to spend his time!
Tanya Manhenga
Tanya is a biomedical student from Liverpool, and will be entering the villa in search of that special someone. Tanya will no doubt turn heads in the villa, and having worked as a model and influencer, she is no stranger to the cameras. She also represents the community of people who suffer with Vitiligo, aiming for positive exposure of this skin condition. We can’t wait to see how Tanya copes with villa life on her quest for love!
Ron Hall
Ron is the handsome financial advisor from Essex who will be joining this year’s contestants, and is looking for love amongst the other singletons. Ron suffered a football injury when he was eight which made him blind in one eye, and he is proud to represent the partially sighted community. Now, he celebrates his uniqueness with one blue and one green eye, and is looking forward to making memories in the villa. We wonder if bromance, and romance, is underway for Ron?
Lana Jenkins
Makeup artist, Lana, is the gorgeous Love Island contestant from Luton, and has previously lived in Spain – and even appeared on an episode of Benidorm! She is a self-proclaimed sucker for love, and hopes that the villa will help her find ‘the one’. Her Instagram suggests that she is a fun-loving person who likes to spend times with friends - which is perfect for villa life.
Kai Fagan
Kai is a science and PE teacher from Manchester, as well as being a semi-professional rugby player for Burnage RFC. He also has a claim to fame, being the cousin of Coronation Street actor Dean Fagan. Kai's confident yet chilled demeanour will be interesting to watch in the villa, and we can’t wait to see if he finds his special someone during his time in South Africa.
Anna-May Robey
Welsh beauty, Anna-May, is a payroll administrator from Swansea. Her mum is very keen for her to find a nice boyfriend, so entering a villa full of singletons will hopefully mean she can find that special someone. She seems chatty, bubbly, and fun, and with her dating life lacking luck, especially her date fail of him falling asleep at the dinner table, we hope she has better luck in the Love Island pad!
Olivia Hawkins
Actress, dancer, and ring girl, Olivia, is from Brighton, and has already experienced a life in front of the camera. She’s starred in films alongside Hollywood actors, has performed as a backing dancer for top artists, and has gone on to be a ring girl. Now, she proclaims she’s ready to settle down, so let’s see if she can find that special someone in the villa!
Shaq Muhammad
Shaq is a security officer from London hoping to find love in the famous villa. As a fan of romantic films, he hopes to experience his own happy ending, and claims that he often wears his heart on his sleeve. With the chance to find ‘the one’, as well as make lifelong friendships and experience living in a luxury villa, Shaq is in for a treat!
Haris Namani
Haris is a TV salesman from Doncaster, as well as being a keen boxer – often sharing videos and techniques on his Instagram. He is confident, friendly, and hopes to find the girl of his dreams in the Love Island villa. However, as such a family-orientated guy, Haris won’t be dishing out any “I love you” claims inside the villa until they’ve met his family first – how sweet!
Tanyel Revan
North London hair stylist, Tanyel, is looking forward to showing off her funny, loud, feisty, and charismatic personality in the villa. She loves to travel, which she shows off on her Instagram with trips to places like Paris and Dubai, and on her travels to South Africa she hopes to find someone like her celebrity crush, Channing Tatum, to whisk her off her feet!
Tune in to watch this year’s contestants flourish, and let’s see how much their social media presence grows – they will no doubt be perfect influencers, current and trending, for your future brand campaigns when they exit the villa!
If you’re interested in working with any of this year’s Love Islanders, or past Love Islanders, please get in touch with our Influencer Matchmaker experts today!
