The perfect antidote to those January blues, Love Island is back and set to fill up these cold winter evenings.
Slowly but surely, ITV have been releasing the details of Love Island contestants - and good news too, because people are already Googling. 'How old is Olivia Love Island?' is a breakout search term tonight (she's 27, FYI). And that's not all you need to know - Love Island are shaking things up and have changed not only the location of the show and the host from Laura Whitmore to Maya Jama, but also the fact that the Islanders social media accounts have been frozen whilst the show is on air.
So without further ado, please welcome your (winter) Love Islanders for 2023...
Who is Tanya Manhenga?
Tanya, 22, is a biomedical science student and influencer who has worked with some major brands like I Saw It First and Boohoo. She says her icks are: 'guys that don't wear socks in the house and secondly, guys in the bathtub with no bubbles'.
What is Tanya's Instagram? You can follow her @talkswithtt_ - even before appearing on the show she's got 14k followers.
Does Tanya have vitiligo? Yes - speaking about the skin pigmentation condition she says, 'You may not even notice it. It's on my lip and I have a stripe on my hair. Not many people know that, but I think it’s quite cute. I don’t care about covering it up all the time, I think it’s a vibe.'
Does Tanya know any Love Islanders? Tanya and 2022 fave Indiyah Pollack already follow each other on Instagram.
Who is Kai Fagan?
Kai, 24, is a science and PE teacher who plays semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC. He describes himself as 'chilled, caring, very impulsive and a good guy.'
What is Kai's Instagram? You can follow him @kaifagan_
Does Kai have a famous family? Of course he does. It's basically a requirement these days. Turns out his cousin Dean Fagan starred on Coronation Street between 2014 and 2018 as mechanic Luke Britton. Kai also went to school with England footballer Marcus Rashford.
Who is Lana Jenkins?
Lana, 25, is a makeup artist. Apparently she's worked with a lot of celebrity clients... Hopefully she'll spill the beans in the villa. Her 'icks' are 'guys who trip over and chase her with question marks when she forgets to reply'.
What is Lana's Instagram? You can follow her @lanajenkinss
What's Lana's claim to fame? Well other than the celeb clients, Lana has also been on TV... as an extra in Benidorm. It counts! Apparently she also dated I'm A Celeb's Owen Warner back in 2020.
Who is Ron Hall?
Ron, 25, is a financial advisor.
What is Ron's Instagram? You can follow him @ronhall__
Is Ron partially sighted? Speaking about it he says, 'On meeting me, you’d never know I am blind in one eye. It was the result of a football injury when I was eight - I went in for a header and got kicked in the face. I’ve got two different coloured eyes, one blue and one green. It’s added to my character, there are so many people that are worse off than me. And if anything, losing something like that makes you realise that. It’s not hindered me in any shape or form. It’s a good conversation starter I must admit.'
Who is Anna-May Robey?
Anna-May, 20, is a payroll administrator. According to Anna her mates think she's 'energetic'. She explains, 'I’m always running around singing and screaming. My parents are always like, ‘Shut up!’ I work from home all day so I don’t really speak to people in person for two or three days a week, so when my father comes home, he’ll want to sit down and chill out, and I’m there chewing his ear off! I would definitely say I am a chatterbox.'
What is Anna-May's Instagram? You can follow her @annamayrobey
Who is Will Young?
Will, 23, is a farmer. Does that make him the first one to appear on Love Island? Will has revealed that every night he lights and candle and meditates. He says, 'A girl I was seeing told me to meditate, I tried it and loved it. I stopped seeing her and carried on meditating! It’s a nice way to self reflect, taking a minute on my day/ week. It’s really nice and sets me up for a nice sleep.'
What is Will's Instagram? You can follow him @farmer_will_ but you'll have to get in line because he already boasts 116k followers. Looks like everybody wants a hunky farmer.
Who is Tanyel Revan?
Tanyel, 26, is a hairstylist. Her ideal man is Channing Tatum. She says, 'I don’t like pretty boys, they give me the ‘ick’ because they always have a crap personality. Channing Tatum is handsome but not too pretty. He’s manly and he can dance. If a man can dance I’m in love with him straight away.'
What is Tanyel's Instagram? You can follow her @tanyelrevan. She already has 13k followers
Who is Shaq Muhammad?
Shaq, 24, is an airport security officer. His favourite film is Dear John. He says, 'Every time I watch Dear John I cry. That’s my favourite film. Any time I’m with someone and they say, ‘Let’s watch a romantic film’, I’m like, ‘How about Dear John, how does that sound?’ Looks like he and Tanyel already have something in common: a love of Channing Tatum!
What is Shaq's Instagram? You can follow him @shaq24s_
Who is Olivia Hawkins?
Olivia is a ring girl and actress. In her acting career she's worked with some pretty cool celebs like Jason Statham and Daniel Craig. She's also worked as a body double for Michelle Keegan and Emma Watson. In addition to the acting, Olivia has had quite a few brushes with celebs having starred in music videos for Craig David and Tom Zanetti as well as dancing at Wembley for Charli XCX.
How old is Olivia from Love Island?
The most Googled question about Olivia is all to do with her age, she's 27 years old FYI!
What is Olivia's Instagram? You can follow her @livhawkinss
Who is Haris Namani?
Haris, 21, is a TV salesman. He says, 'I’ve never taken a girl home, 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. He is only 21 to be fair, he's got plenty of time.
What is Haris's Instagram? You can follow him @haris_namanii - if his Instagram is anything to go by, Haris likes to keep fit in the boxing ring and has even won a few matches
Is Haris single? Presumably if he's going on Love Island but one or two comments on his Instagram claiming that he dumped a girl to appear on the show have made us a bit suspicious...
Who is Tom Clare?
Tom, 23, is a semi-pro footballer from Barnsley. He describes himself as 'loyal, trustworthy, family-orientated and protective'.
What is Tom's Instagram? You can follow Tom @tomclare__. Expect a lot of topless pics and shots of him playing for Macclesfield FC.
What is Tom's claim to fame? Turns out Robbie Savage is the director of his football team. Tom says, 'I just have such a good relationship with him. I see him as a mate.'
Robbie actually personally granted Tom permission to appear on Love Island saying, 'I'm supporting a young man with an opportunity to change his life. Tom Clare has a day job. He's a part time footballer at Macclesfield. He was top scorer last season and is in and out of the team this season. How can I, as an owner of a football club, stand in a 23-year-old's way when there's an opportunity for him and his family to earn vast sums of money if he does well?'
Who is Tom's celeb crush? Madison Beer. No surprise he went after Olivia Hawkins then! They do look very similar.
Who is Zara Deniz Lackenby-Brown?
Zara, 25, in a model and property developer from London. She says, 'It takes me a while as I have high standards and I’m fussy but when I meet someone that I like I fall in love very quickly.'
What is Zara's Instagram? You can follow her @itszaradeniz. The girl really loves a swipe along!
How tall is Zara?
Zara's 5'9 so one of the taller contestants this year. She is a model after all.
Does Zara have any hidden talents? Quite a few and it seems like they're not that well hidden! She says, 'I’ve always loved being on stage and performing, I did musical theatre and performing arts at university. I’m fully trained in ballet, tap and jazz and have singing qualifications which led me to get scouted as a model.' We can't wait for the talent show.
What is Zara's claim to fame? As a result of Zara's performance background she's done a lot of modelling and dancing for music videos for UK and global artists working with people like Hardy Caprio, Headie One, Aitch, Tione Wayne and more.
Who is David Salako?
David, 24, is a money advisor from Essex. He says, 'I’m a really good judge of character. I feel like I can read someone.'
What is David's Instagram? You can follow him @davidsxalako. There aren't many pics on his profile though...
Does David have any hidden talents? Apparently the boys got some pipes on him. He says, 'I can sing, but I will never sing! I just haven’t got the confidence to do it.'
