With their suitcases full to the brim with kilos of ‘just in case’ items– the same top in seven different colours, if they’re anything like me – and their stomachs abuzz with butterflies, we can all only but imagine how the 2019 cohort of Love Islanders are feeling right now. The opening cast have already been on the island of Mallorca for a week, spending their days with their individual chaperones catching those Spanish rays, hitting the gym and preparing themselves for their grand entrance.
As idyllic as this sounds, the Islanders will have had their phones confiscated the moment they landed on the Island. They have no contact with friends or family, no access to social media and are kept isolated in various locations all across the island until they meet their fellow Islanders when they step foot in the Villa. The chaperones have the tough job of ensuring none of the Islanders bump into each other on the streets or in a restaurant before the big day, so they must all coordinate their movements accordingly.
The bombshells – those, like me, who are flown in over the course of the competition – on the other hand, are no doubt waiting by the phone for that all important phone call to let them know when they are flying out. Unlike the opening cast, bombshells are faced with a lot more uncertainty about when their time will come. Interestingly, the format of the show isn’t as rigid as I initially thought before I joined the cast. The producers watch and play close attention to the behaviour and storylines unfolding in the villa at that moment which will dictate which bombshell(s) will enter, and when.
I was given a broad timeframe by the producers as to when I’d be entering, so I was packed and ready for almost two weeks before I entered. Then, I got a phone call a week and a half into the show to say that I’d be flying out in less than twelve hours’ time.
I didn’t know how to feel when that day finally arrived. Like everyone else, I was nervous, excited and scared – I just didn’t know what to expect. Ellie Brown (who I entered the villa with last year) and I were kept in separate cabins at the production site for eleven hours before we entered the villa, and our chaperones did a great job at ensuring neither of us bumped into each other that day. I genuinely had no idea Ellie existed until two minutes before we were leaving to enter the villa – I thought I was alone – so I empathise with the feelings of the new Islanders. I couldn’t even choose the outfit I entered the villa in – I had to let the producers choose it so that they could coordinate mine and Ellie’s outfits.
The first thing that strikes you when you walk into the villa is the silence. It is set in the Mallorcan hills where there is no one around and no external noise, not even the distant hum of a car engine can be heard. When watching it on TV; it gives the illusion that people’s voices boom and bounce around the villa but that couldn’t be further from the truth. When we first walked in, I found the silence frighteningly intimidating.
Despite this, the villa is actually a lot smaller than it looks on TV. Inside the villa, there are artificial walls and doors you are forbidden to enter. There are really only a few rooms that Islanders are allowed into. The Islanders will have only one shower to share between all of them, which can become tricky at times, and when on a tight schedule the Islanders will often shower together to save time.
The beach hut is one of the only places in the villa where you can get some true alone time, and Islanders can use this as a place of solace, and as a way to vent their feelings and emotions that they may choose not to in front of other Islanders. Islanders will he called to the beach hut between 2 and 5 times per day, sometimes more if there is drama brewing. Islanders can also choose to go to the beach hut of their own free will if they feel there is something they need to get off their chest. The beach hut is also the place that Islanders will go if they feel unwell or if they need something specific, like medication.
When in the villa, Islanders will quickly forget the cameras are there. For me, they quickly blended in with the scenery and became just another part of the villa furniture. Sometimes, if I really sat and thought about how many millions of people were behind the cameras, I would feel quite overwhelmed – it’s a daunting thought. It almost doesn’t seem real. You just have to forget they’re there at all.
I truly don’t believe it’s possible to play a game in there. The experience is overwhelming in every way possible, getting to know dozens of new people, getting used to a completely new environment, not knowing the date or time... There’s just too much to take in. If any of those islanders intend on playing a game, I’d guess it will end very quickly.
I think it would be wrong to judge any of the Islanders on the videos we have seen so far, but I’m excited to get to know them as we watch for the next few weeks. Who will couple up? Who will join the Do Bits Society? And, ultimately, which couple will be crowned the winners of Love Island 2019? We’re ready. Bring it on.
Join Zara for Love Island Question Time on @Graziauk's Instagram, where she'll be debriefing tonight's episode
Love Island Contestants 2019 - Grazia
1 of 12Amber Gill, 21 from Newcastle
Occupation: Beauty therapistMost likely to… get in trouble thanks to her old social media posts.Ok, well, we cheated on this one, because before entering the house, Amber was already in trouble, after a video of her saying she 'doesn't like black guys' emerged. Unsurprisingly, the post has now been deleted. She got her 'rep' to tell The Mirror, 'We deleted the post as it was being taken out of context in regards to what actually happened.' (Yes, she already has a rep...) Much has been made of the fact that she knows Adam Collard from last year's show, but, let's face it, she's an attractive woman living in Newcastle, so the chances were always going to be high.Back to her pre-show interview, Amber 'reveals' she likes guys that go to the gym, so we think she'll be well catered for. She also fancies Tom Hardy 'because he loves dogs as well and I love dogs'. Cool. And says her 'three' best traits are 'I'm funny, I'm sassy and I'm kind and I like to include everyone. I like to make friends with everybody'. So we can also assume one of her worst traits might be counting to three. Amber pulls it back by describing the time she got absolutely wasted on five Cosmos In A Can on a train while heading to a first date in Manchester and fell off, hammered. We've all been there.
2 of 12Amy Hart, 26, from Worthing
Occupation: Air hostess / cabin crew managerMost likely to… be described as 'This year's Laura!'Amy says that, 'My best friends at home are my best friends because we have the same taste in alcohol but different taste in men,' which means she's bound to be friends with everyone in the villa as they sup their designated two glasses of Echo Falls every night. And it seems she only speaks in shareable Facebook memes. Describing why Tinder time-wasters are the worst, she says, 'I'm 26 years old, I'm a bit old for a pen pal.' Sounds like that post-show t-shirt line is ready to go. Anyway, because she's an air hostess and, er, blonde, she'll probably be likened to Laura Anderson (of losing Wes to Megan fame last year). She's DIFFERENT though. 'Where I'm from, no-one dresses like me or acts like me,' she says.We also really like this anecdote, if you read it in a breathless, 'And Another Thing, At Band Camp' intonation… 'I went on a night out once and Liam from One Direction was there. We were in the VIP bit and so was he and he walked past me and I smiled and he said 'Hey, you alright? What's your name?' He told us to come and sit in his booth and we had a picture together. I put it on Instagram and then my cousin who was twelve and a big One Direction fan put it on her Instagram and suddenly I was on all these international One Direction accounts. I was on Sugarscape and I was getting hate from ten-year-olds because they thought I was dating him!'TELL US ANOTHER ONE LAURA, sorry, Amy.
3 of 12Yewande Biala, 23, from Dublin
Occupation: ScientistMost likely to.... Be an amazing hybrid of Camilla Thurlow and Megan Barton-HansonYou got Camilla Thurlow two years ago and Dr Alex the year before people - introducing this year's 'CLEVER JOB PERSON', Yewande. Yewande says, 'I'm a scientist, which is a unique job'. We don't want to split hairs, but we googled it for all of three seconds and apparently there's up to eight million scientists in the world.'I'm a tad dramatic,' she adds - which, as anyone with a friend who describes themselves as 'a tad dramatic' knows, means Yewande could be Love Island TV Gold. Oh yes, here we go… she continues: 'I'm a terrible flirt, but I'm such a girly girl and I can't imagine [note, imagine] stealing someone's man in there. I don't think [note, think] I'd be that type of person, but never say never.' Incredible.
4 of 12Lucie Donlan, 21, from Newquay
Occupation: SurferMost likely to… Say, 'I'm just not a girl's girl, yknow?'Unbelievably, the second professional surfer to enter the Love Island villa in two years (after Laura Crane), Lucie says at least 19 times that she likes sport and sporty guys, so we're already predicting some attraction to Not Tyson Fury (see below).Lucie says she's 'spoken to Joey Essex on and off', which is exactly the kind of modern dating terminology that makes us feel old, confused and tired. And her claim to fame is dating Charlie Frederick from last year's Love Island who we honestly had to google to remember.Lucie also sets her stall out when it comes to other girls in the villa, saying this (which makes us want to die a bit, but also means she'll probably make good telly). 'I'm more of a guy's girl than a girl's girl. I've got a lot of friends that are into riding bikes. I get on with those girls who are bit more tomboy-ish. I get on fine with girls, I just don't like hanging out with girly girls too much. I like hanging out with guys because they're into the same type of sports…. less drama really.' Yep. Less drama. Sure.
5 of 12Anna Vakili, 28, from London
Occupation: PharmacistMost likely to… Fall over and become a most excellent meme.First off, pharmacists are our absolute favourite, because when we (always) can't get a doctor's appointment, they're always there for us to make us feel better. Anna's vying for Yewande's CLEVER JOB PERSON title, saying, 'I'm different to anyone who has been on the show before. I have the whole glam look, I'm fun but at the same time I feel like I have more to me than that. I studied hard and I've got my masters. I'm a pharmacist and I have a Middle Eastern background.'She says her love life can be summed up by a Cardi B song, she's 'a drama queen', spills her drinks all the time (us too, hun), once walked into a glass door on a date and fell over in front of Love Island Alumni Kem Cetinay. So, yeah, we're into it.
6 of 12Anton Danyluk, 24, from Airdrie
Occupation: Gym ownerMost likely to… cause trouble (and definitely not tell anyone he's got a Porsche)Anton excitedly wants you to know that he thinks he's the first Scottish man in the villa, so there's that. He also gets bonus points for using the phrase 'mugging off' before he's even started the show.But then, there's this… 'That's a medical condition that I have… a wandering eye!' Crikey. 'I've never really been loyal in any of my relationships. My last relationship, I actually got caught cheating for the first time in my life and it changed everything for me.' Um, so we're sorry if any of Anton's previous, formerly blissfully ignorant girlfriends are reading this. Anton, who appeared in a TOWIE-style/wannabe reality show, GLOW, also tells this brilliant anecdote. 'I bought myself a Porsche when I was twenty-one, as you do! I picked a girl up in that and she started taking pictures when she was in the car and sending it to her friends. The fact that she was doing that made me think it meant something to her. It shouldn't matter what I was driving whether that be a Corsa or a Porsche so I finished the date right there.' Yknow, as you do! We're sure it meant nothing to Anton when he bought the PorscheNotACorsa either.
7 of 12Joe Garratt, 22, from South East London
Occupation: Catering company ownerMost likely to… Make everyone lunch.Joe is a man who likes to answer questions thoroughly… even if it's rating his looks. 'Today, I reckon about an 8.5! In the mornings I'm probably like a low 8. I consistently stay around the 8s to 9s in my opinion. Maybe some days I go past the 9, when it's a really good day…. a suit day.'Joe, who used to play semi-professional rugby, has a real way with words. He's never 'snaked any of my mates out' and says there's 'nothing worse than someone just slipping around'. The songs that sum up his love life are 'How Am I Supposed to Love Without You' by Michael Bolton and 'When A Man Loves a Woman', so make of that what you will.And a date of his was once ruined after a load of drunk women who knew him from delivering sandwiches to their office ran over shouting 'SANDWICH MAN!' Mmmm… sandwiches. A man, who makes sandwiches. Good.
8 of 12Michael Griffiths, 27, from Liverpool
Occupation: FirefighterMost likely to… Be subject to a load of puns about being fire, his hose and sliding down poles.Ok, here we go, Love Island Gold. 'I'd rate myself ten out of ten,' says Michael. 'I would have said nine but I'm a hero so it bumps it up.' He also says he's a 'straight-taking guy' over and over, before reminding us, 'I'm a hero! I'm a firefighter, who doesn't want their own firefighter? Their own local hero.' Of course he's 'loyal' but 'If I like somebody, then I'll go for it. There's not really anything that can stop me'. And when discussing bro code, Michael utters the classic line, 'You go into the villa to find somebody'. Which everyone knows is the Love Island catch-all for doing absolutely anything you want. And we love it...
9 of 12Sherif Lanre, 20, from London
Occupation: Chef and semi-pro rugby playerMost likely to… flick past us on TinderSherif's FIRST celebrity crush was Vanessa Hudgens in High School Musical - and seeing as we liked that film in our early 20s in an ironic, 'yeah we're in our 20s and love Disney whaaat?' way, Sherif is making us feel old. He says a 'date with a cougar' (was she like, 26?) 'didn't go to plan'. And then he adds his biggest turn-off is 'if someone wants to be the centre of attention' which means that one trip to a karaoke bar with us and it'd all be over.Also, he says FEMALES. 'Bro code to me is "Nothing leaves this circle."' says Sherif. 'Whatever we're talking about doesn't need to be relayed, not just to females but to any other people outside the bro circle.' Nope.
10 of 12Callum Macleod, 28, from South Wales
Occupation: Aircraft engineerMost likely to… Be described as 'the dad' of the group. Because he's over 24.'Time is ticking', says Callum. 28. 28. Sorry. Ok, we're back. Seeing as he's OLD-fashioned, Callum has ideas about how he's going to meet what we can only imagine he might call his 'wifey'.'I'm not into the dating apps, I can't get my head around them,' says Callum. 'I want to have a story, a bit of a fairytale. I don't want to tell the kids I met mum on an app! I do get a bit of the sliding into DMs and I do a bit as well. That's just part of the modern day, isn't it?' We can't wait until Callum tells his grandkids that classic fairytale @SnwWhite_and_the_7dwarves.
11 of 12Curtis Pritchard, 23, from Shropshire
Occupation: Ballroom and Latin DancerMost likely to… Embarrass himself dancing at The Pool PartyOur worst/favourite bit of Love Island is undoubtedly when they get half a glass of wine each and are awarded a 'pool party' where a load of drama is due to go down, but first, they make them stand in a circle and dance around, soberly, to some CLUB CLASSICS.Well, in the same way that there's nothing worse than a decent singer at karaoke, we're all ready to cringe when professional dancer Curtis (he was on the Irish version of Strictly) decides to show off his moves at the weekly disco. Curtis is the younger brother of Strictly star, AJ Pritchard, and much has been made of the fact that AJ was linked to a 'fling' with Love Island presenter Caroline Flack, but we're way too mature to mention that.The dancer says one of his worst traits is that 'I never reply to text messages', so we're not sure how he's going to fare in the land of GOTTA TEXT! Curtis, who has crushes on Megan Fox, MIla Kunis and Ariana Grande, also says 'love is blind' twice within four sentences. So we can't wait for him to definitely follow through on that in the villa. Lol.
12 of 12Tommy Fury, 20, from Manchester
Occupation: Boxer Most likely to... Say, 'I don't want to just be known as Tyson Fury's little brother'Tommy, you had us at 'I won't be afraid to go and have a splash about in the pool.' Finally! Someone might get in that freaking pool (aside from Georgia Steel).Tommy is the little brother of heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury, but says he doesn't want to be 'labelled as his little brother', which is difficult because he literally is Tyson Fury's little brother. Like fellow pool fan Georgia, TommyNotTyson is very LOYAL. 'I'm a loyal guy down to the roots' he says. He also talks a lot about what he considers is bro code when approaching a girl he likes, but seeing as he'd a six foot boxer, with a six foot nine boxer as a brother, we'd just consider the code staying the EFF AWAY if we were the other boys.