Love Island is famed for many things, but body diversity is not one of them.
The ITV2 reality TV series has been severely criticised in previous years for not casting contestants with a range of body types – now it seems the tide has changed.
After weeks of anticipation, the full lineup for Love Island’s fifth season has been announced, and a plus-size woman is among them.
Anna Vakili, 28, works as a pharmacist in London and says she is “different to anyone who has been on the show before”.
“I have the whole glam look,” she adds. “I’m fun but at the same time I feel like I have more to me than that. I studied hard and I’ve got my masters. I’m a pharmacist and I have a Middle Eastern background.”
Vakili already boasts a significant social media profile, with 39,400 followers on Instagram. Her feed is a mix of selfies and holiday snaps taken in lavish destination such as Dubai and Mykonos.
The soon-to-be reality TV star revealed her follower count surged earlier this year after she was spotted with two Iranian footballers while on holiday with her sister in Quatar. “Suddenly my followers went up by 20,000 and I started being tagged in fan pages!” she said.
Describing her best and worst personality traits ahead of entering the Majorcan villa next week, Vakili said “I’m very kind and emotional [...] but I’m difficult to handle, I’m a drama queen and I overreact”. She also described herself as “clumsy” and a “messy eater”.
News of Vakili’s casting comes after countless viewers urged Love Island bosses be more size inclusive with their contestant choices after years of seeing the same body types represented time and tie again.
It had been rumoured that plus-size model Jada Sezer would be among this year’s contestants, but Sezer does not appear in the first lineup, which includes five women and seven men.
While ITV2 has not commented specifically on Vakili’s casting, a spokesperson said:
“When casting for Love Island, we always strive to reflect the age, experiences and diversity of our audience and this year is no exception with a cross section of different personalities and backgrounds in the villa.”
Love Island returns to ITV2 on Monday June 3 at 9pm
