Love Island All Stars is back on-screen, hauling contestants from seasons past back into the infamous neon tube-lit villa to battle it out for love, public fame and a chance at winning £50k. Of the many names, the first episode revealed the series' first bombshell: Ekin-Su Culculoglu.
Ekin-Su, an indisputable icon and beloved member of season eight, won the nations' hearts with her truly chaotic choices i.e. sneaking onto the roof terrace for a secret rendezvous behind her partner's back. She put the explosiveness back into a Love Island bombshell, and viewers loved her for it.
Ekin-Su won the reality series with then-boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti in 2022, and since their win, she went on to appear on Ekin-Su & Davide: Homecomings, where she and Davide visited Turkey and Italy, Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Traitors in the US. She even published a memoir, Be Your Own Best Friend: And other lessons from a life in and out of the limelight, last year.
It's fair to say she's stamped the well-trodden Love Island winner path, becoming a Oh Polly brand ambassador upon winning, and was in talks to become a Loose Women panelist, but her return to All Stars marks a significant moment in the post-Love Island career timeline.
Ekin-Su is the first winner, and a recent winner at that, to return back to the franchise – a move that's often associated with contestants who didn't get very far or who need a career boost. Former winners like Amber Gill (season 5), Kem Cetinay (season 3) and Liam Reardon and Millie Court (season 6) feel so far removed from the show, and have gone on to build businesses, take on presenting jobs or carve out YouTube careers – to varying success – and haven't yet returned. Even non-winners like Molly-Mae Hague (season 5) have famously branched out to become huge influencers detached from the franchise.
Despite having a huge four million Instagram following, Ekin-Su's U-turn back to Love Island confirms what we've known for a while: the series can't offer contestants the open door to influencer fame and money it used to.
With all of the spin-offs (Winter Love Island, Love Island Games and All-Stars), we've never been inundated with more personalities through the series than ever before. On top of the endless iterations, many viewers have long complained of how media-savvy everyone now is on the show. The initial premise – a dubious means to find the love of your life – feels even less relevant to contestants in 2025, especially when couples historically split a year after the show, but continue to hawk make-up, clothes and more on their social media for years after.
Ekin-Su says she had a 'gut feeling' telling her to return. 'It’s somewhere I've laughed, cried and learnt so much,' she said. 'The fact that there's an opportunity to do it again – why not! Why can't a winner go back in and re-write her story and have a second chance?! I think you should follow your gut and my gut is telling me to go back, so I’m listening to it.'
But fans have pointed out that during her time on Celebrity Big Brother, she shared the show wasn't fun for her, telling Zeze Mills, 'Yeah well it wasn't really for me.'
Regardless, if Ekin-Su is happy, we're happy. At the very least, her return to the series could mean we're in for a drama-filled treat. She could even make history as the first person to win the show twice – an accolade fit only for her.