Love Island catch-up: Joe's love triangle and the arrival of Tyson Fury's brother, plus other talking points from episode one
Get the Aperol Spritzes at the ready, and cancel your plans for the next eight weeks – Love Island’s back.
It might seem like just yesterday that Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham won the hearts of the nation and took home the £50,000 prize money, but once again, it is time to return to the Mediterranean villa.
Not dissimilar to Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster (2015), the rules of the reality show demand that contestants couple up (only with members of the opposite sex, mind you) over the course of the series. Only one couple will take home the cash prize.
Among this year’s 12 hopefuls (though there will be many more) are a beauty therapist, a semi-pro rugby player, and a ballroom dancer. As usual, Caroline Flack will take on presenting duties.
Here are the biggest talking points from episode one, and you can also check out our live blog as the show happened below.
"Bev"
With every new series of Love Island, a few new catchphrases emerge. Last year, of course, there was “loyal”, “sort”, “pied off”, etc. But no one has ever tried so hard to make a catchphrase happen as Lucie, who just one episode in is already uttering the word “bev” approximately every six seconds. Please stop, Lucie. Nobody understands what you mean.
A villain emerges
He may yet surprise us, but all early signs points towards Anton being this year’s Adam, AKA a terrible human being. Already, he has gone behind Amy’s back to try and persuade Lucie, despite her expressly stating her lack of interest, that she does, in fact, fancy him. Not to mention the fact that a picture emerged, before tonight’s episode even aired, of the 24-year-old wearing blackface.
Accusations of racial bias
Anton’s heinous photo is not the only race-related issue surrounding the show. Former contestant Marcel Somerville tweeted to point out the frequency with which black contestants were picked last. “This is mad!!!! #LoveIsland flash backs! Black guy, black girl and mixed race guy all left unpicked. Mad!!!” This isn’t the first time this has been raised either. Last year, contestant Samira Mighty was oft-overlooked – though it’s a depressing bias that exists in the real world too: in 2014, according to Gal-Dem magazine, the dating website OkCupid found that black women received the fewest messages out of all its users.
Two new contestants
There’s no rest for the wicked on Love Island. Just as everyone had been (un)happily coupled up, two new men arrived – Curtis and Tommy, the latter of whom is boxer Tyson Fury’s brother, and is built, as the actor Dax Shepard would put it, like a brick s**t house. No doubt he’ll be the cause of much heartache, mugging and pieing (sp?) in the weeks to come.
Read our live blog for all the updates on the first episode as it happened.
This year's line-up is considerably more diverse than it has been in previous years. "When I was on Love Island, there was a lot about me being the only dark skinned girl," said last year's contestant Samira Mighty. "I think it would be great to see a lot more races in there."
A lot has been made, too, of the inclusion of Iranian Instagram star Anna Vikili, who has been dubbed, by some, the show's first "plus-size" contender. Actor and body image campaigner Jameela Jamil begs to differ. "The producers of Love Island think this slim woman counts as their new token 'plus size' contestant?" she tweeted. "Are they drunk?"
Before you start sharpening your claws, have a read of Ed Power's article on why we have a responsibility to "be kinder and less judgmental when bantering strangers are served up for our casual entertainment".
This year's Love Island has some big shoes to fill. The 2018 edition was the most popular programme in ITV2's history, with 4.3 million people tuning in to the final episode to root for Dani and Jack. (Don't tell us you wanted Megan and Wes to win.)
Just a few minutes left of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them on ITV2, and then it's Love Island time. No offence to him, but Newt Scamander probably wouldn't make it past week one.
