LOVE Island’s Georgia Harrison has let slip that the reality dating series will definitely be back this year.
Georgia who is currently in Dubai revealed that not only will Love Island be back on ITV this summer, but that the show’s producers are already recruiting potential Islanders.
The show has been off air since February last year, with coronavirus laying waste to plans to stage the ITV mega-hit twice a year.
ITV recently reopened its casting website – inviting potential villa stars to apply for the show’s seventh series.
But the network really sent tongues wagging when it updated the closing the date for applications to April which suggests filming will start not long after and we could expect a new series on our tellies by summer.
Now the Love Island alum told HOAR in an exclusive chat that she knows some people are being interviewed for the show, but kept mum on who they might be.
“I’m so jealous of anyone who gets to go on it. I’ve heard of a few people who are in the interview process and it’s just so exciting – I wish I could go back in time and be in their position again,” Georgia said.
“I don’t what you say who because I might get into trouble for that – they might get dropped.
“It’s just friends of friends – it’s just a few people I know.”
Georgia also hinted the show is likely to return to its iconic Mallorca location after filming the recent winter series in South Africa.
“It would be weird if it was filmed anywhere apart from Mallorca,” she told HOAR in the exclusive chat.
“They filmed the one in South Africa, but from what I’ve heard from the people at ITV – it was quite hard to film there and a bit of a struggle so I think if they had the opportunity, they would go back to Europe.”
ITV declined to comment when approached by HOAR.
The reality star had some hot tips for those keen to find love in the villa.
“Literally just be completely and utterly yourself, because I think it’s so obvious when someone is being unauthentic in an interview, and it’s even more obvious when they get on TV,” Georgia advised.
“So try to relax and try to forget there’s cameras there, and also if you are going in, try to write down three obvious questions that they might ask you.”
She added: “It might be what’s one of the best dates you’ve been on, what’s one of the worst dates you’ve ever been on and tell an embarrassing story about yourself and what you’re looking for in a man or a woman.
“They’re probably the standard sort of things that are going to get asked.
“Maybe just have an answer for those in the back of your mind before you go into your interview, and that way you won’t freeze as much.”
A list of requirements for possible contestants lists only four things – that applicants must be 18 or over, have no family links to ITV or the Love Island producers, hold a passport, and be free for eight weeks to film the show.
Applicants must then upload a short video explaining why they would be a great Islander – plus headshot and full-length photos of themselves.
The applications also feature questions about applicants’ jobs, genders and sexual orientation.
However, applications are not necessarily any guarantee of catching a producer’s eye with only six stars being recruited to the show that way in the 2019 series.
Even if the coronavirus pandemic is still wreaking havoc and the nation remains in some kind of lockdown, filming for a new Love Island could go ahead.
Firstly, the UK Government allows for filming to continue even during lockdown and many major shows have remained in production.
Also, the second season of Love Island USA has filmed during the pandemic, with strict Covid safety protocols in place.
The contestants were housed a Covid-19 secure hotel in Las Vegas, in a villa at the top of Caesars Entertainment’s boutique hotel, The Cromwell.
