Love Island Cast Secrets: Behind The Scenes At Love Island

Love Island is back, baby, and the GLAMOUR team are convinced this could be one of the best series yet. And it seems the ratings back it up: Love Island's series launch attracted the biggest 16-24 TV audience on any commercial channel since the World Cup in 2022 and it just keeps getting better and better.

Mitchel's neediness and Whitney's excellence aside, if you're just as intrigued as we are by what goes on behind the scenes on TV's hottest show and want the inside scoop, stay right here because we have answers.

I pride myself as a bit of a Love Island veteran, having flown out to Mallorca and Cape Town for the past few years to have a sneak peek at the villa, meet the show's brilliant producers, and, of course, meet the batch of islanders. I've learnt some pretty interesting - and shocking - insider secrets over the years and the producers follow a similar formula each year. So if you care as much about Love Island as I do (which you probably don't want to admit), here's all the cast secrets I've learned over the years as Love Island's super sleuth (and yes, there really are hundreds of condoms!).

A lot of the Islanders in the past have been head-hunted by producers or talent scouts via Instagram. Whilst the twins (Eve and Jess from 2019) were scouted on Instagram and Nas from the same year was spotted via a YouTube video he starred in, the vast majority of the islanders actually apply to be on the show.

Although most people leave the villa with lucrative clothing deals under their belt and millions of Instagram followers, the producers are old romantics at heart and just want contestants looking for love. Sophie Piper told us she wanted to go on the show because she'd been single for '500 years', whilst Niall from 2018 told us: "I made a little video of me basically saying I'd DMed everyone in the city to no avail so now I need to get on the Island to get some action. Obviously they must have agreed with me so I'm here now."

Every islander has to make a video of themselves to get a place on the show. Laura Anderson from 2018 maintains you should pull out all the stops – because producers told her that her entry was the best of the year.

Laura went to great lengths to make a mini-documentary about her life – and managed to cram it all into one minute. Laura filmed little clips of everything she got up to in an average day in Dubai – including filming herself on a plane in her role as an air hostess, some footage on the beach, doing a workout session in an outdoor gym and even riding on a camel in the desert!

Whilst it may look like the cast enjoy a good kip at night and wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the drama, past islanders have complained about the major lack of shut-eye. "The lack of sleep was like a big thing for me," Paige Thorne from season 8 said. "I feel like that’s all I complained about. I felt like it was just going to be like a holiday, but I think, to just like make sure the stories made sense, you were actually filming quite a lot of the time."

Her boyfriend Finn added: "I mean yeah, it was late nights – and then because your emotions are heightened as it is, you're then tired as well."

In fact, Paige said it felt like five minutes' sleep.

Do the cast get any time off?

According to Kem Cetinay, the reason Love Island doesn’t air on a Saturday is so that the cast can ‘get a day off’ and head to the beach.

Speaking on This Morning, he revealed that producers take the cast out of the compound to the beach for a few hours. "They get one day off a week," he said. "What happens is it gives them a day to clean the villa and you take your mics off and normally we go to the beach and we just chill out. Not a lot of people know this. What happens is when you take your mics off, you’re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the show.

"You’ve got to talk about home life. You’re being watched by an evil hawk, by the producers because they don’t want you to talk about what’s going on.

"You can all sit and chat but they are quite careful about what you talk about because they want to keep it so everyone at home can see and get it on video. It’s more a day off from all the intense games, all the intense dates, deciding who you like and don’t like."

And Millie Court from season 7 also revealed the cast get ‘chill days’ in the villa, which can include fun activities, games by the pool, takeaways, or sweet treats such as ice cream. On the chilled, camera-free day, islanders sleep in same-sex beds and are not permitted to discuss any couplings or gossip to avoid missing the drama.

The show is far from scripted. "The beauty of the format is that it allows us to do what we want," one producer told us. "We follow the way the stories lead, we don't go in with a master plan. The beauty is that we can be reactive and flexible so we follow where the islanders lead us."

The show isn't cut chronologically. It doesn't begin in the morning and end in the night; the producers can end a show in the middle of the night to give them time to adapt to what is happening. The evictions often happen at 3am after public votes have been counted up.

A cleaner comes into the villa once a week to give it a spruce up and change all the bed sheets.

The cast are allowed around two drinks each per night to monitor their consumption.

The producers never get the match-making right. One of them told us that they all sit around and try and pair the potential couples up - and have never got it right!

It can get pretty intense in the villa so there’s psychological help on hand for anyone who needs it. The production team have continued to evolve their processes with each series, as the show’s popularity has risen and the social and media attention on Islanders has increased. This year's cast will be offered a full package of measures to ensure they remain supported prior to, during and after the filming period on the show. After an initial trial period, the show will now formally introduce a guideline asking participants to pause social media handles and accounts for the duration of their time on the show, to ensure that both the Islanders and their families are protected from the adverse effects of social media.

The Love Island Duty of Care policies and procedures are reviewed after each series and reflect feedback from former Islanders. All Islanders now complete video training and guidance across a range of topics to include mutually respectful behaviour in relationships, behaviour patterns associated with controlling and coercive behaviour and language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, and microaggressions before they meet their fellow Islanders. The inclusion training consists of conversations chaired by BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport) founder Leon Mann MBE with DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) consultant Hayley Bennett, disability specialist Shani Dhanda and broadcaster Sean Fletcher. First introduced ahead of Series 8 in 2022, these discussions will tackle topics including inclusive language and behaviour, creating safe spaces and being a good ally.

Prior to appearing on the show, prospective Islanders will also watch a video fronted by the show’s Executive Producer and Head of Welfare, interviewing former Islanders about their experiences on the show. This includes details on the two week period before they enter the Villa, how to cope being filmed 24/7, the interaction they will have with producers in the Villa, the support provided to family members, dealing with social media trolling, and adapting to life away from the show. A full overview of the welfare service offered to Islanders includes:

• Comprehensive psychological support
• Training for all Islanders on the impacts of social media and handling potential negativity
• Training for all Islanders on financial management
• Detailed conversations with Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show
• A proactive aftercare package which extends support to all Islanders following their participation on the show
• Guidance and advice on taking on management after the show

Anyone coming and going from the villa has to use hand sanitiser to keep germs out. There's also tonnes of security on site and gates to stop any trespassers sneaking in so don't even bother!

What do the islanders eat?

A catering station is set up in the grounds of the villa with chefs on hand to make food for the production team and the Islanders. We were treated to a meal in the villa and it was a delicious array of salads, barbecued meets and local wines. The cast cook their own breakfast, however.

Whilst we never really see the cast sitting down for meals, viewers went into meltdown after spotting what they deemed to be a McDonald's McFlurry in the fridge of the villa last summer. The unexplained moment came when Ovie opened up the freezer to retrieve his hat, which he'd left in there to cool it down. Fans immediately took to social media to question why on earth it was in there. And now, Belle and Anton have given us an explanation. Speaking to Heat Magazine about the mysterious ice cream, Belle said: "Yeah, we needed that. We really did," with Anton adding: "I think it was about once a week we were getting them. I had a few chicken nuggets here and there. Belle was trying to fatten me up, before the next bombshell came in."

Now it all makes sense!

Love Island have their own branded range of condoms - there are over 200 in the house and they will be replenished as needed.

There are 80 cameras dotted around the villa this year - more than ever before, which makes sense as the Cape Town villa has far more nooks and crannies. They are mostly hidden so the contestants will forget they are being filmed.

The grass and flowers are all fake in the villa.

There ARE cameras in the toilet just in case but the footage isn’t monitored. They have it for health and safety reasons.

Just like Big Brother, there are no clocks in the villa meaning the Islanders never know what the time is.

Fans took to Twitter in their droves one year to comment on Dani Dyer's seemingly different hair colour in the final week.

As viewers may have noticed, Dani's hair appeared to transform from light brown to a deep brunette hue overnight.

People were quick to take to social media to comment on it...

And it seems they were right. A spokesperson for ITV2 told GLAMOUR: "All the girls had hair and beauty treatments within the villa a few days ago. Dani’s hair is the main big difference."

Love Island podcast host, Arielle Free, also told us how the girls stay so preened, including the surprising person who cuts the girls' hair.

"Waxing, they fake tan a lot too as they don't want to sunbathe too much or burn. Laura was helping cut peoples’ hair (badly according to Kem’s well-trained eye). Sometimes they might be able to get their nails or hair done ahead of the final." And Amy Hart shared on her TikTok how the girls usually spent around two hours getting ready.

The islanders are given phones that allow them to message each other. Former islanders Adam Collard and Zara McDermott told OK! Magazine how they really communicate with each other away from prying eyes and ears of the producers and other islanders.

“We used to write messages to each other when we were in bed so other people couldn't hear what we were saying,” said Adam. “We deleted our messages but the producers told me that they still have them all."

Ex-Love Islander Amy Hart, in a blog post for Cheltenham Betting Offers, gave a fascinating insight into the fun and boredom in the Love Island villa - and how the housemates on her series used to wind ITV producers up by texting each other posing as crew.

She said: "I'm really enjoying this series. People love to hate Love Island, it's like cool to hate Love Island, and that's why people have been making a lot of noise about it. But sometimes people don't realise the boredom in there as a contestant.

"We used to text each other to wind everyone up, if it was a really boring day. Their phone would go off and everyone would go, 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, I've got a text.'

"Me and Tommy wrote them to each other one day starting it with, 'Islanders…'. Everyone thought it was a real one but it actually wasn't and the producers were like, 'Seriously, can you stop doing that now.'

"One day me and Amber were bored so we handed the phones out so it looked like someone was going to get a text … but it never came!

"You can't put the phones on silent and when you type it makes LOADS of noise."

There's plenty of makeup and clothes on offer for the Islanders (from straighteners to curling wands) in the glam room, while eBay is offering the Islanders clothes to supplement their own wardrobes and Love Burst - Love Island's own makeup range - is on offer, as well as beauty goodies.

Producers go to some seriously extreme lengths to keep the contestants from meeting before the show. They are all flown over on different days and different flights. They also stay in different parts of the Island in a plethora of hotels. They have their own personal chaperone to keep them safe and from trying to find the other Islanders and even have their phones confiscated before they jet out. This year's cast told us they'd been spending their time watching a lot of Netflix and sunbathing on their balconies.

Getting excited? Check out the catchphrases and snap up your water bottle for the season ahead.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qLjApqauqp2WtKLGyKecZ5ufY8Kse8Crq6KbnJp8rbvVnmSiq5yWu6V5wpqqrWWjmrCzsdOs