Those with a Love Island-shaped hole in their lives, should be sad no more... as the reality TV hit is back! As a new bunch of sexy singletons head to Spain for the summer, host Caroline Flack reveals that her nan will be tuning in...
Caroline Flack on what's in store as the sun-kissed reality TV hit Love Island returns...
Get ready for more tears, tantrums, make-ups and break-ups… the reality TV hit of last summer – and the now BAFTA-winning – Love Island is back!
Over the next eight weeks, a new crop of sexy young singletons will move into a villa on the island of Majorca, all hoping to find their soulmate. And with a £50,000 cash prize up for grabs for the winning couple at the end of the series, it really does pay to make love not war.
We talk to the show's host, Caroline Flack, 38, about what’s in store for series four…
Congratulations on winning the BAFTA. Why do you think Love Island has become so popular?
"I think the popularity of the show has happened really nicely and organically. I think once you look beyond the surface, you discover it’s not what people think it’s going to be. As you get drawn into the various storylines, you realise it’s a lot more than just loads of scantily clad bodies in a villa. I didn’t think MY NAN would ever watch Love Island but she does!"
Love Island 2017 winners Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies. Who will win this year?
Were you surprised to hear that Liam Gallagher is a fan of Love Island?
"I was really please when the whole Liam Gallagher thing came out last year. I thought it was really funny and so unexpected - but it just shows that people from all walks of life can enjoy the show."
How important do you think social media is to a show like Love Island?
"Oh, social media plays a HUGE part in this show. I’ve never worked on a show that’s so talked about on social media as this one - it’s what people enjoy the most! People love a good moan, for a start, and they love talking about the different love stories and predicting what’s gonna happen. This show brings people together and creates unity."
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So what can you tell us about this year's Islanders? We heard that 60,000 people applied to be on this series within 12 hours…
"I know, it’s mad! The producers have cast the Islanders really well again – they’re all really good; I don’t know why, they just are. But this series has to be different to the last one – we don’t want it to be like: ‘Oh, there’s our Kem’ or ‘That’s our Chris’. We may not create the same magic as we did last time, so we have to create a different kind of magic."
We’ve all seen the Love Island trailer of you in the pilot’s uniform. Was that fun to film?
"Yeah, it was fun It was a whole day filming just for that one wink. They came to measure me for the pilot’s costume and I got to keep it as well. Don’t know when I’m ever gonna use it though…"
Are there any tactics to doing well on Love Island?
"I suppose people could go in with tactics but, I think, when it comes to relationships, you can’t fake them. Well, not for long anyway. I know I couldn’t pretend to like someone, I’d be put off by their smelly shoes! But you definitely can't fake love."
So, do you think people can REALLY find true love on a TV show?
"I think it’s actually more likely on our show than online. Because we take the Islanders’ mobile phones away it means they’re going back to the art of conversation, which is like old-fashioned dating. So although it’s a modern show about love, it’s the old-school way of falling in love. If I wasn’t now in a relationship, I’d certainly be tempted to go and live in a villa for eight weeks!"
Ah yes… congrats also on your recent engagement to Apprentice and Big Brother star Andrew Brady. Do you think hosting this show will feel different now you’re ‘loved up’ yourself?
"I haven’t been in a relationship since I’ve hosted Love Island, which started in 2015, so I’m gonna feel like a bit of a love expert now. This time, I can give the Islanders some advice… before I just gave them warnings!"
Love Island starts on Monday June 4, and airs nightly at 9pm on ITV2.
