Love Island 2024: Five biggest talking points after new series launch
Series is set to be ITV’s biggest yet
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Cue the romance, drama, gravity-defying bikinis and fire pit chats – Love Island has officially returned to our screens for the summer.
Hosted by Maya Jama, the popular ITV2 show follows a brand new group of singletons as they lounge in the brighter-than-ever and newly revamped Mallorcan villa, to find love, compete to get the public’s vote and win a £50,000 prize in the process.
The 12 new contestants for the eleventh series have been revealed, ranging from self-described Welsh “pocket rockets” to Scouse queens. They include Harriet Blackmore, 24, Sean Stone, 24, Ayo Odukoya, 25 and Patsy Field, 29, who is keen to raise awareness for Erb’s palsy, a condition which affects the nerves in her arm.
As of episode one (Monday 3 June), the first couples have been announced after a surprise game which ruffled feathers and saw Islanders rank each other from most boyfriend and girlfriend material to least.
And, a shock bombshell entrance floored Islanders, as reality TV royalty Joey Essex entered the villa.
Find all the talking points from the Love Island season 11 launch show below. Read our review of the first episode here.
1. Joey Essex enters the villa
In a shock to viewers at home and Islanders in the villa, The Only Way is Essex star Joey Essex entered the show at the last moments of episode one.
Despite being a veteran on our TV screens, Joey walked in declaring that he’s looking for a queen to help rule Essex with him... and judging by the grins on the girls’ faces as he entered, he might just find her during his stint on the Island.
2. Feathers were ruffled in a brand game that gave us our first couples
In a first for the show, our new contestants were not paired up through their own choice or through a public vote. They were instead forced to rank each other based on who they felt was the most boyfriend and girlfriend material and who they felt was the least.
A mullet and tattoos went against 23-year-old hairdresser Sam Taylor, while 31-year-old surveyor Ciaran found himself at the bottom of the pile because the girls thought he was cagey when talking about his previous relationships.
Meanwhile Sam was judged for her “partying” and Harriet for coming out of a relationship four months ago as the girls found themselves at the bottom. Meanwhile Mimii came out on top and Nicole was considered “wifey” because she was... Welsh.
What better way to start a fiery summer of love than with a spicy twist? ❤️🔥
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) June 3, 2024
The Islanders' rankings of each other mean your first Couples of #LoveIsland Series 11 are… pic.twitter.com/Njt2TkuZiD
3. Patsy says she shares a bed with her mum
Patsy revealed an intriguing fact to her partner, Ayo – at home, she shares a bed with her mum. According to the 29-year-old office administrator, she has been tucked in with her mother since moving back home in December.
Unsurprisingly, the mother-daughter sleeping situation has not been conducive to romance – but maybe they can figure out a time-share situation if Patsy leaves the island with a new love interest...
4. Samantha divided fans as she compared herself to Abbey Clancy
Scouse queen Samantha is a 26-year-old make-up artist who says she’s often told she looks like model Abbey Clancy. Fans were divided as some said “Is Samantha like Abbey Clancy‘s long lost daughter or her doppelganger or what?”
Another added: “I just shouted at the TV, she looks like Abbey Clancy and she’s just said it.”
Others disagreed as they felt the similarity was only visible with a “squint”.
5. The newly revamped villa is hurting people’s eyes
ITV have invested a lot into the colour and decor of the new Miami-inspired villa in Majorca. They’ve made this year’s home for the housemates brighter than ever before. But for some it was a bit too bright.
“The love island villa is not it this year. It’s so bright for what? Why is the dressing room BRIGHT ORANGE.. like seriously what was the need?” said one person on X/Twitter.
Love Island launched on Monday (3 June) at 9pm, and for the first time in the network’s history, the first episode aired simultaneously on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX. It will continue on ITV2 and ITVX thereafter.
Who are the new Love Island 2024 contestants?
The 12 new contestants for the eleventh series have been revealed, ranging from self-described Welsh “pocket rockets” to Scouse queens. They include Harriet Blackmore, 24, Sean Stone, 24, Ayo Odukoya, 25 and Patsy Field, 29, who is keen to raise awareness for Erb’s palsy, a condition which affects the nerves in her arm.
Click below for info on all the new islanders.
Love Island 2024 contestants revealed ahead of new summer series
A new batch of hopeful singletons will be entering the villa for a summer of romance...
Sneak Peek: Watch the Islanders enter the villa ahead of the launch tonight... and there’s a major twist
Love Island is back at 9pm tonight, with the launch airing simultaneously on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX simultaneously.
Watch the islanders enter the villa in a sneak peek below.
The Villa doors are open and a huge twist already awaits… 👀
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) June 3, 2024
Watch our Islanders step into a summer of love, tonight at 9pm on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX ☀️ #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/Yjq3jd5pm0
How many weeks does the show last and when is the finale?
Though January saw the first all-star season, bringing back memorable contestants from the past for a second (or third) shot at finding love, this summer will see a group of new faces entering the Mallorcan villa.
But how long do we have to wait before the drama, scandal and gossip begins again?
Love Island 2024: How many weeks does the show last and when is the finale?
Everything you need to know about the summer of romance
Where is the Love Island villa? As ITV revamps house with major plot twist
The new and improved villa is brighter than ever before with a new Hideaway twist.
Tucked away off a dirt road in a remote area in the east of Majorca, it is set against a sprawling landscape of mountains and greenery.
It’s where our couples will get to know each other in the hopes of making a connection– and some major changes have been implemented to ensure it is the “sexiest” season yet.
Love Island 2024: Inside the famous villa near Majorca with major new twist
‘You could fart down one end and they wouldn’t hear it down the other,’ said host Maya Jama of the new and improved space
From Gemma Owen to Tommy Fury: All of the nepo babies that have appeared on Love Island
Gone are the days when Love Island contestants were ordinary people with less than 1000 Instagram followers. These days, contestants are more likely to be the children of wealthy and famous parents.
Read below for our list of all the nepo babies that have appeared on the dating show.
All of the nepo babies that have appeared on Love Island
Children of stars of stage, screen and sport have all appeared on the ITV2 reality dating show
All the Love Island couples that are still together now
If we look back at islanders past, the real world has broken what seemed like the strongest of pairings. (Who else was quietly devastated when Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham split?)
Below, we run through the Love Island couples from all the series that are still going strong.
All the Love Island couples that are still together now
We look back at the couples who have lasted the distance
Love Island bosses say show is good ‘education’ for young people
The show’s executive producer Mike Spencer has shared that he believes the reality TV programme is good education for young people.
“Love Island should demonstrate what a relationship is like and what dating is like,” he told The Sun.
“We’ve got an audience of young people so I think it is an education. It’s seriously important for people to watch the show and know people aren’t perfect — none of us are.”
Islanders asked to rate each other in launch night twist
Islanders have been asked to rate each other according to who they think is girlfriend and boyfriend material in a new launch night twist.
Usually the Islanders are free to step forward for who they think is their type, while in the show’s latest seasons the public have coupled them together according to who they think is the most compatible.
But it appears all of that is out of the window as they play a brand new game ahead of their first coupling.
Who will get an ego boost? And will anyone be left in tears?
Love Island released a sneak peek of its first episode which can be viewed below.
The Villa doors are open and a huge twist already awaits… 👀
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) June 3, 2024
Watch our Islanders step into a summer of love, tonight at 9pm on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX ☀️ #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/Yjq3jd5pm0
After weeks of waiting, the popular dating show is back with a bang
Fans react to Love Island’s return as the series is back on our screens for another eight weeks of romance, drama, scandal and fire pit chats.
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