With less than a week to go until Winter Love Island returns to our screens after a three-year hiatus (congrats, hun), we've been getting to know the first batch of Islanders set to walk through those villa doors on Monday (16 January - cancel all plans and perhaps even book Tuesday off work).
Producers have revealed the identities of five new girls and five new boys and despite banning their family and friends from taking over their socials while they're away, we've managed to learn a fair bit about them already using our sleuthing powers.
At first glance, if we're being brutally honest, there are no surprises amongst this bunch; if we closed our eyes and imagined 'generic Love Island cast' we'd see something very similar, if not identical, to this newly-released group shot of the Winter Love Island 2023 cast. Maybe we're just a bit bitter as there's no signs of Gatsby's brother, Kerry Katona's daughter, or any former Islanders at the moment?
One character we're intrigued by, however, is new boy Haris Namani, a 21-year-old TV salesman from Doncaster who, as it turns out, has learned an important lesson from none other than iconic Love Island 2022 finalist, Gemma Owen.
Okay, so we can't actually prove that these Islanders have physically sat down face-to-face and chatted about this, but we do know they have at least one thing in common; Gemma made it crystal clear that she didn't want to make things official with Luca Bish inside the Love Island villa, instead, she wanted to introduce him to her family first and get their (well, her mum's) seal of approval. According to Haris, he would be exactly the same.
In an interview with ITV, Haris revealed that he would never tell a girl he was in love with her while in the villa, adding that, like Gemma, he would have to take said lucky girl home to meet his family first.
He said, "I’m not going to say I’ve fallen in love until I’ve taken them to meet my mum and dad or sisters and brother."
We have to say, the aforementioned interview is quite the eye-opener. Considering Haris is only 21-years-old he somehow already has the confidence of one Davide Sanclimenti and even – dare we say it – a whiff of one Adam Collard.
He tells the interviewer that he's "confident" and "good looking" in almost EVERY ANSWER; we're not saying 'ick' right away, but, yeah – maybe "ick".
This line seems to sum the soon to be Islander up sufficiently, "I’ve never been turned down by a girl. I know it can happen, but my strike rate is 100%."
Oh, and this one, "Very confident, funny, memorable as well. I like to be memorable. A lot of people like to do stuff with me. I’m an ‘invite guy’, someone will invite me anywhere. I’m not embarrassing."
Don't worry, Haris. A bit of media training will sort those answers out in the future, no probs.
In all serious, we do like to enter a new series of Love Island with fresh, non-judgmental eyes and souls and we'll, of course, be doing the same when watching this young hunk.
We look forward to your sales pitch, Haris.
Who is Haris Namani?
Haris Namani will be one of the first Islanders to enter the Winter Love Island villa on Monday 16 January, alongside Olivia Hawkins, Tanya Manhenga, Tanyel Revan, Lana Jenkins, Anna-May Robey, Kai Fagan, Ron Hall, Shaq Muhammad, and Will Young (no, not that one).
How old is Haris Namani?
Haris is 21 years old, making him the youngest boy on the latest series (so far). The youngest contestant this year is 20-year-old Anna-May Robey. Somehow Gemma Owen is still younger than both of them.
What does Haris Namani do for a living?
Haris is a TV salesman. He is also a keen boxer; one who's star is soaring in the world of sport.
Where is Haris Namani from?
Harris is originally from Doncaster.
Does Haris Namani have Instagram?
He sure does; you can follow him at @haris_namanii.
Why is Haris Namani going on Love Island?
Haris says he has never found love. He says, "I think this is the show that can help me. It’s the best opportunity for me to find the girl and find the right one. I’ve obviously not found the right one myself."
What gives him the 'ick'?
Apparently female feet that are over size five... Again, the media training will sort that in the future.
Does Haris have any unusual skills?
According to Harris, "I do yoga, I’m very flexible, I can nearly do the splits." Here for that. He's also very good at sport.
He says, "I’m good at any sport; tennis, ping pong... I’m very competitive. If you start doing press ups I won’t stop until you stop."