Love Island 2018: Meet the contestants

Love Island 2018: Meet the contestants

Twitter icon
Facebook icon
LinkedIn icon
e-mail icon
Monday, 4th June 2018
Credit: ITV Studios/Love Island

The summer can now officially begin, Love Island is back!

The award-winning reality series will see 11 singletons couple up in the hopes of winning over the public and taking home a cash prize (and finding love, of course).

Expect egos, muggy behaviour and a lot of eggs being put in one basket as this year's line-up includes a nuclear design engineer, Danny Dyer's daughter, a West End performer and another ex-popstar (well...kind of).

The voice of Love Island Iain Stirling will return with his razor-sharp commentary, and Caroline Flack will return to her presenting role on the main show and the Sunday night live special Aftersun.

Additionally, last year’s winner Kem Cetinay will join radio host Arielle Free for a new podcast Love Island: The Morning After, unpacking the events of the previous night's events with special guests and exclusive content.

Last year, an average of 2.5 million people tuned in live to watch Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies crowned as the winners of Love Island, drawing in ITV2's biggest ever audience. "This is a real case study for all of those nay sayers who say that 16 to 34s don’t watch telly,” Angela Jain, MD of ITV Studios Entertainment, said at a recent RTS event.

With producers trying to limit the amount of sex and smoking on screen this year, could this be a much tamer series? Probably not…


Alex George, 27, an A&E doctor from Carmarthen

A&E doctor Alex describes himself as caring, driven and a people person with the ability to "get on with everyone".

Looking for a natural beauty, Alex says his biggest turn off is high maintenance girls, “I think it’s brilliant to look good but spending three hours to get ready to go and walk on the beach is too much for me.”

After spending the last three years a single man, the eligible doctor is looking for love…but don’t expect to see him showing all on camera. He adds, “I just want to make sure that I behave in the right way. I absolutely love my job, I’ve worked since the age of 13 to get here.” Watch this space…

Laura Anderson, 29, a cabin crew member from Stirling

A fully-fledged member of the mile-high club, Scottish air hostess Laura has travelled all over the world, yet is hoping to find the one on Love Island.

With nine previous boyfriends, two of whom were people in the public eye, Laura’s looking for a “rugged and real” guy who can push their ego aside, “it’s so nice to see an amazing guy who doesn’t realise how amazing he is.”

Dani Dyer, 21, a barmaid from east London

Yes, you read that correctly, there are two Danny Dyer’s in the world…and of course, the Eastenders actor named his daughter after himself. Dani has already dipped her toe in the world of reality television, appearing on ITV2’s Survival of the Fittest.

The barmaid is looking to find a connection with someone without any mind games or gimmicks, she says, “I hate when a boy asks you direct, ‘do you fancy me?’ I don’t like cringeworthy quotes or chat up lines. Don’t chat me up!”

Looking for love and friendship in the villa, Dani is hoping to bring the group up with her bubbly personality, “when someone feels down, I’d like to be the one that they can talk to.”

With her dad already providing the nation with endless quotable catchphrases, here’s hoping Dani has a few of her own fresh Love Island quotes for the series ahead.

Wes Nelson, 20, a design engineer from Staffordshire

Electrical and nuclear systems design engineer Wes is looking for someone to tame his wild lifestyle, confessing he is interested in an older woman. “I consider myself a mature person so definitely looking for something serious," he says.

After saying he is no stranger to sliding into girls DMs, Wes boasts a large Instagram following after his kickboxing videos went viral.

He rates himself as “9.99 out of 10” and thinks he is “pretty damn perfect”, but will he be anyone’s type on paper?

Hayley Hughes, 21, a model from Liverpool

Confident and outgoing Hayley is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers during her time in the villa, “I have no filter, I say what I’m thinking at the time. Some people like it, some people don’t.”

Coming out of a five year relationship, Hayley is new to the dating game and ready to set her sights on a new man, “I always go for what I want, and I always get it.” 

Her ideal man is Channing Tatum but failing that, she's after “someone with a nice personality who knows how to treat a girl." She adds, "I want the package, not just someone with good looks." 

Kendall Rae-Knight, 26, a retail manager from Blackpool

The retail manager and part-time model is looking for love after the breakdown of an engagement, “hopefully I can pick up dating tips from the other girls. I will need some help!”

She says the way to her heart is a glass of rose and a lot of food, “I love garlic bread, followed by steak or chicken, then cookie dough ice cream.” 

A self-confessed huge Harry Potter fan, Kendall says she is most like her favourite character Hermione. Can she summon up a love spell to find her perfect man?

Niall Aslam, 23, a student and construction worker from Coventry

Fellow Harry Potter fanatic (he has Hermione's wand tattooed on his arm), Niall rates himself as an "all round fairly pleasant package."

Not on the show to make friends, Niall isn't worried about any competition in the villa, “I don’t care who a lad is if he is big, better looking, I’m still going in there and I’ll still rock up and try and chat up his missus.” 

Student Niall likes to be spontaneous and adventurous in relationships, and wants to find someone who will take him for all his weird habits, “the best way to my heart is being open and upfront. And just being happy and bubbly.”

Eyal Booker, 22, a model from London

The floppy haired Londoner thinks of himself as a spiritual soul, “I’d like to think I have a depth to me so I guess that stands out and I look at things quite deeply.”

Searching for a deep and meaningful connection, Eyal prefers getting to know someone before jumping into love, “I’d want to know about them, their family, what they stand for, what they like to do and hopefully find a connection through conversation."

Like last year’s islander Marcel “I was in Blazin’ Squad” Somerville, Eyal will no doubt bring up his previous experience as a (ahem) successful popstar in the band EverYoung…what, you’ve never heard of them?

Samira Mighty, 26, a West End performer from London

West End star Samira loves being the centre of attention and will most likely take control if things go array in the villa, “I’m a leader, and I like to make sure that everyone is having a good time.” 

Her career makes it hard for her to find love, but is hoping her love life will change when she steps into the villa.

Despite claiming to be a caring shoulder to cry on for her friends, she is prepared to step on a few toes when coupling up, saying "girls can be catty. It wouldn’t phase me going head-to-head with someone for a guy.”

Adam Collard, 22, a personal trainer from Newcastle

Adam is not just a pretty face, he says “I’m funny when you get to know me where as people usually expect me to be serious.”

The Geordie personal trainer thinks "there’ll be a bromance as much as there’ll be a romance" during his time in the Majorcan villa, saying his reason for going on the series is for "a good time." Watch out, we could have another Muggy Mike on our hands!

Jack Fincham, 26, a stationery sales manager from Kent

Jack is not short of confidence entering the villa, describing himself as “really good looking” and “really funny” with “no complaints” so far.  

The cocky stationery sales manager wants to find a bond with someone in the villa but the clumsy chap is scared of making a fool of himself on TV. “I am a walking disaster. I don’t want to embarrass myself. And I hope I find someone who I genuinely like.”

Bragging that he has every kind of pen you can think of…he’s even got some “with a light at the end.” It might take a bit more than that to impress the islanders in the villa.

Say goodbye to your summer, Love Island starts 4th June at 9pm ITV2.

You are here

The summer can now officially begin, Love Island is back!