Love Island catch-up: Joe's love triangle and the arrival of Tyson Fury's brother, plus other talking points from episode one
As the reality television show returns to ITV2, we explore the biggest moments from the first episode of 2019
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
As with last year’s series, new episodes will be broadcast six days a week. Find out everything else you need to know about the series here.
If the Islanders express shock and outrage at 26-year-old Amy having never been in a relationship one more time, I'm throwing my TV out of the window.
Love Island 2019: First awkward moment as none of the girls step forward for Sherif
Early prediction – Anton is this year's Adam. (That is not a compliment)
Fun fact – Islanders have an unlimited supply of tampons and condoms. Seems wise.
Fun fact number two (no pun intended) – there’s a private toilet Islanders can request to use if they’re feeling a little shy.
Sherif: "You can only be yourself, and let the girl choose."
Joe: *intensely confused*
The sheer nerve of Anton explaining to Lucie that she does, in fact, fancy him.
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