Love Island’s medical student Priya Gopaldas has recalled her “daunting” experience working in an intensive care unit (ICU) after volunteering to help during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Priya is the latest girl to enter the villa, with viewers seeing her on dates with newly single Teddy Soares and Matthew MacNabb after her debut last night.
The 23 year old’s time on the ITV reality show is likely to be a world away from her experience back home though, having spent time caring for Covid patients earlier this year.
Priya, from London, shared details of her “daunting” experience helping out at University College London Hospital on her Instagram account prior to joining Love Island.
In an article shared in January, the UCL student revealed she decided to get involved at the hospital during a surge in Covid cases.
She said help was requested from medical students on New Year’s Eve, and despite not being fully qualified, Priya “felt a responsibility to help out” as best she could.
The fifth-year medic subsequently worked night shifts at University College London Hospital (UCLH) in order to support doctors and nurses managing a rise in Covid cases.
She said: “My first shift was a daunting experience. Donning PPE for the first time felt uncomfortable and strange. I then followed the nurses into the ICU bay and was shocked to see just how ill patients were.”
She said there were more than 200 positive cases “of all ages and ethnicities.”
Priya said most patients needed round the clock care and in an interview with Pi Magazine, shared on her Instagram in April, she added: “I found it incredibly difficult to process just how many people were dying.”
The Love Island newcomer has made no secret of her profession since entering the villa, revealing to several islanders that she works within the medical industry.
This included during her date with Teddy, in which she asked him to guess what she did for a living. Initially suspecting that she worked with maths, the 26-year-old correctly guessed that she worked in the science field.
The date seemed to go well with Priya describing Teddy as “really sweet.” He however later admitted that he was still hung up on Faye Winter, who explosively broke up with him last week.
And while Faye has so far remained committed to continuing her journey alone, a preview at the end of last night’s episode teased that she’s considering rekindling her relationship with Teddy.
In tonight's episode, Faye admits she wants Teddy back and offers him a grovelling apology.
Love Island continues tonight on ITV2 at 9pm. Catchup now on the ITV Hub.
