This year's Love Island has been brilliant already! The first episode had a whopping three million viewers tuning in to see the brand-new islanders and shiny new villa, so it looks destined to be a big success. I thought the twist of the first episode - where it was revealed the public would choose who couples up with who - was a great change-up to the format.
Physical attraction is of course important, but I think having the public decide means that the Islanders may partner up - and fall in love with - someone they may not have given a chance before. We'll see how it plays out! We've already had a few bombshells who have shaken things up.
Bombshells are a great aspect of the show - I was one back in 2019. I arrived in the villa early in the morning and surprised Curtis as he came outside to make his morning coffee! It was fun, but I do wish I'd been in the original line-up, as it means you're less likely to tread on people's toes. I caused a bit of a fallout with Yewande [Biala] when I went for Danny [Williams], who she was paired with. Even though there was drama, I don't regret it - you have to stay true to yourself.
That's what I'd say to this year's group - you've got to do what you want! It'll be sweet watching the friendships blossom in the villa. I'm still friends with some of the girls from my series - Amber Gill [who was BFFs with Yewande] lives down the road from me so I see her quite a bit, and I love Joanna [Chimonides].
While it is Love Island and not 'Friend Island' - as the contestants always like to say - there's definitely the chance to make some great friendships in there.
'I've never struggled with body confidence - but I feel for Georgia'
Last year’s Love Island star Georgia Townend, 29, recently spoke out about she really struggled with body confidence before entering the villa, saying she thought she looked "ugly and fat" in her promo pic and that she begged producers to let her wear a swimsuit rather than bikini.
This is really sad, but sadly it's so common for women to overly criticise their bodies. As a model, I’m very used to my body being critiqued and judged, so over the years, I’ve let any criticisms pass me by and never struggled with body confidence issues. I was always used to skimpy clothing so it wasn't a big deal for me.
But I know for so many women, getting into a bikini can be daunting. I think the way to get around this is to have more representation of different bodies on the show. This year's starting line-up had more diversity in body shapes, hopefully there'll be even more as the series goes on.
