Love Island is playing with fire with some of the All Stars cast and here’s why
HOLLYWOOD tells us that love is at its best when it’s passionate, feisty and explosive.
That kind of dramatic affair is certainly best for the big screen.
And it’s definitely the kind of love that could spark some life into Love Island as it heads into a new All Stars series.
But the dating show bosses are playing with fire with their new line-up – and here’s why.
Last year, much was made of “warring exes” Liberty Poole and Jake Cornish coming face to face for the first time after their split during the 2021 series.
But the storm in a teacup played out in a fairly formulaic fashion and the thunder passed with barely a whimper.
In the same way, tales of how Georgia Harrison and Casey O’Gorman’s off-screen fling ended when she told him she’d encountered his dead grandfather’s ghost was funny rather than fraught.
But this year’s batch have real, toxic matter to share and in the boiling heat of the South African sun, things could turn nasty.
Gabby Allen and Marcel Somerville – he’s the one that was in Blazin Squad – came fourth in 2017 and limped on after Love Island until a year later, when their romance ended in disaster.
Because, wait for it, Marcel cheated on her while they were both together on a Mexican holiday, sleeping with a tourist, first whilst she slept and again when she went to the gym.
But now they’ll be back in the villa together for the new All Stars series, which starts on Monday.
Marcel, wait for it, is fresh from his marriage break-up after he discovered his American wife was texting US rapper Slim Jxmmi behind his back.
It doesn’t take a psychology degree to realise a wounded man plus woman he once wronged isn’t likely to equal a happy ending.
It’s not just Gabby and Marcel that have the potential to combust.
Luca Bish, from 2022’s series, was the focus of Ofcom complaints and charity Women’s Aid, who implored Love Island to think about the “controlling behaviour” it was showcasing.
Luca’s now back in the villa, very much with a point to prove.
Women's Aid Statement
WOMEN’S Aid has spoken out after Luca Bish was cast for the Love Island All Stars series.
During his time in the 2022 villa, Luca was one of a number of men accused of “controlling behaviour” and “bullying” towards the girls, including Gemma Owen and Tasha Ghouri.
Now the domestic abuse charity has told The Sun the lad re-entering the villa has “raised concerns.”
Women’s Aid said: “Once again, Women’s Aid is having to raise concerns over Love Island and the contestants that the producers are putting on the show.
“Those who have displayed harmful and abusive behaviours previously should not be given a platform again on the All-Stars version of the show.
“Producers must ensure that they are considering the past behaviours of those they are putting on the show, to mitigate the risk of further victimisation and abuse.
“Controlling and coercive behaviour in relationships is a serious issue, which the Love Island producers have a responsibility to protect both contestants and views from.”
Ahead of his second stint in the villa, Luca has said that he’s learnt from his mistakes.
He said: “It taught me so much about myself, especially as I can go back and watch it.
“It’s good to reflect.
“I think that it’s not the mistakes that define us, it’s the lessons and what we learn from them that makes us.”
Following the difficult series, Love Island bosses put into a place a robust new duty of care package which included enhanced training for the Islanders around behaviour in relationships.
ITV said: “Ahead of entering the Villa, Islanders will receive guidance and training around mutually respectful behaviour in relationships.
“Participants will be offered resource links to read up on, in advance of meeting their fellow Islanders, to help them identify negative behaviours in relationships and understand the behaviour patterns associated with controlling and coercive behaviour.”
So is Olivia Hawkins, who became the poster girl of “toxic femininity” in the winter 2023 series after she was accused of bullying in the villa.
Another point to prove there, then.
And also returning as a bombshell at some point in the series is Ekin-Su Culculoglu, who was so broken by her experience after Celebrity Big Brother last March, she hid in her home and had to undergo a six-month image overhaul to get her back in the public’s good books.
Bit of a job on her hands then, too.
That’s nearly half the cast entering the lavish Cape Town villa with a hefty weight on their shoulders.
They’re not just going in there to find love, they’re going in there to entirely rebuild the public’s perception of them.
It’s no small task, at the best of times.
But certainly not one easily achieved in front of hundreds of cameras, with an ex-lover lurking nearby.
Fire extinguishers at the ready.