This year’s series of Love Island has a surprise connection to Charlie Brooker’s anthology series Black Mirror.
It turns out that the South African villa that’s hosting the show’s contestants was the set of an episode from the most recent series of the Netflix hit.
The instalment in question was “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”, the episode starring Miley Cyrus as the imprisoned pop singer Ashley O.
In the episode, Ashley O is held prisoner by her manager and aunt in an attempt to mine her for her talent – and the villa she’s kept in is the same one the Love Island contestants are currently living in.
This first of two editions of ITV2’s reality show has seen a huge drop in ratings compared to the past two series, which took place in the summer.
Contestants include Sophie Piper, the sister of former Saturdays star and presenter Rochelle Humes, and Paige Turley, the ex-girlfriend of singer Lewis Capaldi.
Black Mirror, which first aired on Channel 4 in 2011, last returned to Netflix in December 2018 with interactive film Bandersnatch.
There is currently no word on when a sixth series will begin.
Love Island continues nightly on ITV2 at 9pm.
