ITV has announced the cast for Love Island 2022.
The summer of love has officially started and fans of the behemoth dating show have waited to bated breath to see the starting line-up for the brand new series.
Laura Whitmore is set to return to host the 2022 series, with husband Iain Stirling providing the voiceover.
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The new series will also take place in a brand new villa in Mallorca that has six bedrooms, views of the countryside, as well as a 20m swimming pool and, of course, the firepit.
Last week we also heard that producers are finally planning to drop the dreaded food challenge.
ITV is once again drip feeding us this information on social media, so we'll be updating this page throughout the day as more contestants are confirmed.
Paige Thorne, 24, Swansea
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Paige is a 24-year-old paramedic from Swansea and she’s heading to Love Island because there’s ‘just nobody there anymore’.
She’s set to bring ‘positive energy, lots of bubbly energy’ and said she’s ‘a good cook’ and is ‘quite mumsy’. Her signature dish is a Sunday dinner and she reckons Gordon Ramsay would be impressed with her culinary skills.
On why she’s single, Paige says: “I came out of a relationship and I was just so done with guys so was like, ‘right, that's it. I’m going to focus on me.’ Then I was like, ‘OK, I’m bored now, I’m lonely and I miss love and the connection and everything else.’ I’ve been on a few dates but I just haven’t clicked with anyone."
Dami Hope, 26, Dublin
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Dami works as a senior microbiologist and after setting himself the challenge to be ‘more open to new things’ this year, he’s making his way to the villa.
He describes himself as being ‘funny’ and teased he will “try not to cause trouble but sometimes you don’t intentionally cause trouble - but it happens!”
And for all the astrological huns out there, Dami also is a fan of star signs. He’s an Aries ‘but very passionate’.
Indiyah Polack, 23, London
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Hotel waitress Indiyah feels she's now at a stage in her life where she's 'ready to meet new people and start dating properly.'
Although dating has been quite tough because of social media, she believes Love Island will be a great opportunity to meet her match because it's 'like a closed space'.
She says: "I think it is a great place to get to know someone one-on-one and build a real connection."
It turns out Indiyah doesn't have a specific type and all the guys she has dated so far have been completely different.
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"Random," she said regarding her dating history so far. "Everyone I’ve dated have all been quite different. I don’t think I have ever been out with two guys who are quite the same."
Liam Llewellyn, 22, Newport
In what must be a complete coincidence, we have another Liam from Wales hoping to find love in the villa this year. The 22-year-old strength and conditioning masters student said his mum would probably describe him as ‘a little s**t’ but he insists: “I’m a good kid, she knows that."
He adds: “I wear my heart on my sleeve, I can’t hide how I feel about anyone. I’m probably quite emotional as well, come to think about it.”
Liam looks set to unveil a host of poetic pick up lines for the ladies in the villa. If given one chance to impress someone, Liam said he would: “Pay them a compliment! The thing that girls quite like is that I’m not just like, ‘You’re mint.’ I’m like, ‘Your eyes are piercing, I’m lost in your eyes.’ Or I’ll say something like, ‘You’ve got nice feet’ or something."
Tasha Ghouri, 23, Thirsk
ITV has confirmed the first ever deaf contestant for Love Island: Tasha from Thirsk, North Yorkshire. She's a model and dancer who describes her dating life so far 'a shambles'.
Tasha has an Instagram page dedicated to 'raising awareness for the deaf community'.
She says: "This is an opportunity for me to find ‘the one’ and have a great summer at the same time."
Tasha says her family and friends would describe her as a ’wild’ and a ‘party animal’. She loves Prosecco and is always on the dance floor. Although she’s ‘a girls’ girl’ she is ‘here to find my man’ and isn’t afraid to step on anyone’s toes to find him.
“I’ll do it in the nicest way possible,” she quips.
Asked how people would describe her, she says: "They would definitely say I’m a nap queen - I love napping! I think they’d also say I’m inspirational because of my hearing and my cochlear implant. I inspire quite a lot of people because I’m really open about it."
Davide Sanclimenti, 27, Rome
Davide, who now lives in Manchester, is a business owner who is set to make hearts flutter in the villa this year.
Thankfully, he's fully aware of his ability to charm English girls.
"I’m going to be the Italian stallion in the Villa," he says. "With my Italian charm, I can also be a very romantic guy.
"I’m good looking and I’ve realised since I first arrived in Manchester, a lot of English girls actually love me.
"They love to be around me and I love to be around them."
He wants to find his 'soulmate' in the villa to settle down with and he describes himself as being 'a very deep person'.
Gemma Owen, 19, Chester
International dressage rider and business owner Gemma is one of the youngest contestants on the show this year.
She is the daughter of footballer Michael Owen and loves sport, having competed for Great Britain in dressage since she was 11 years old.
Her competitiveness has carried over into her dating life and she admits ‘I will always go for what I want’.
However, the ‘fun, flirty and fiery’ teen plans to avoid stepping on people’s toes to find her dream partner in the villa.
She says: “I’m not going to mess up something for someone who is in a proper relationship or get in the way of a couple if they have a genuine connection.
“I wouldn’t do anything to another girl that I wouldn’t be happy with them doing to me.”
Ikenna Ekwonna, 23, Nottingham
The 23-year-old pharmaceutical sales worker has only been in one relationship up to now.
He took his ex on holiday for her birthday to Barcelona which he describes as his most memorable dating experience. What will Ikenna bring to the villa you ask? “Hopefully, I’m going to bring spontaneity and excitement.
"I’m not really shy to speak to people and I don’t really care too much about what people think.”
Andrew Le Page, 23, Guernsey
This singleton works as a real estate agent and he’s decided to give the ITV dating show a go because he’s ‘actually single for once’.
He describes himself as being ‘very loyal’ when he’s in a relationship with someone and says he’s a ‘good boyfriend’.
He’s also willing to go all out for his partner’s birthday. He says: “With my ex, we went out for dinner for her birthday. I pretended that I got her absolutely nothing and she was kind of fuming.”
He recalls: “Then I whipped out that, ‘we’re actually going to Paris tomorrow’. She was very happy with that.”
Amber Beckford, 24, London
The 24-year-old nanny says she has lots patience when working with children but nada for adults. "They annoy me," she quips.
She's looking for a boyfriend in the villa but if you're the type of guy who likes to show off, you may be out of luck. "I don’t like flashy, showy-offy guys," she admits.
"Just have a personality and make me laugh. There was this one guy and he was trying to purposefully show off his car keys and we were literally in the middle of a restaurant!"
That sounds awks.
Luca Bish, 23, Brighton
Last but not least we have Luca. The fishmonger from the coast was inspired to join Love Island after seeing ‘how many couples it’s genuinely made’.
He came out of a four-year relationship ‘about a year ago’ and they broke up after they ‘drifted apart’.
So, how does he meet his potential partners? “I prefer to meet girls out and about,” he says. “I think when you go looking for it, it’s not as easy though, it’s like you’re too desperate for it. If I think you’re the one or I like you, I’ll take you out on a date but other than that, if we talk and I don’t like where it’s going - then I won’t be throwing out dates.”
Last year, Millie Court and Liam Reardon were crowned winners of the seventh series, while Chloe Burrows and Toby Aromolaran were runners up.
Meanwhile Faye Winter finished third with Teddy Soares and Kaz Kamwi finished fourth with Tyler Cruickshank.
Let the countdown begin - the eighth series of Love Island will begin on Monday 6th June.
Topics: TV And Film, News, Love Island
Gregory Robinson