LOVE Island’s Iain Stirling has joked that he is heading to the villa after discovering his US lookalike islander.
The Scottish comedian, who shot to fame doing the show’s voiceover, shared a hilarious response after spotting a striking resemblance to new contestant James McCool.
The funnyman joked that he would be going on this year’s show as a contestant instead of doing the voiceover, despite being engaged to Laura Whitmore.
Alongside a snap of hunky James, he wrote: “Latest #LoveIslandUSA update.
“For those asking I will not be voicing the American Love Island. But I will be going into the villa!!!”
Fans were quick to respond agreeing that the star shared an uncanny resemblance to the show’s newest singleton.
One wrote: “Uncanny” with a string of laughing faces.
Another wrote: “”Minus the six pack.”
A third wrote: “That’ll be something to see!! Miss your voiceover Iain!”
One Twitter fan also hoped that the Scotsman would be narrating the US series, they wrote: “We wish you were voicing it! Definitely miss you on our version.”
The second series of Love Island USA will be coming to our screens next month filmed in a Covid-secure hotel in Las Vegas.
UK fans will be able to tune in from September 7, with the first episode airing at 9pm on ITV2.
Contestants will be kept in a safe “bubble” inside a stunning villa on top of Caesars Entertainment’s boutique hotel, The Cromwell.
Host Arielle Vandenberg and narrator Matthew Hoffman will return to oversee the battle to win the $50k cash prize.
Paul Mortimer, ITV’s Head of Digital Channels and Acquisitions said: “We’re thrilled that ITV2 can bring the latest US version of Love Island to viewers this year.
“Las Vegas may seem like an odd destination for the show but the canny producers have beaten Covid with a show that adheres to all production protocols and that could well be sensational.
“Certainly the ‘villa’ is impressive and the cast diverse and amazing. We believe Love Island fans will embrace this Sin City twist, my bet is the series will be another big hit.”
The show kicks off today in the States with a starting line-up of five girls and six boys.
The US series was previously filmed in a villa in Fiji, but production has been switched to Las Vegas due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
And while British fans last year had to stay up late to tune in, this year ITV2 have switched it to prime time, making up for the fact that this summer’s UK version had to be cancelled.
But some Love Island fans have been left underwhelmed by the “lack of diversity” in the new American series.
One Twitter user said: “You can’t cast black women to just claim you’re diverse. You need to work on the casting process.”
Another said: “Love Island already got me upset with the selection of girls, one black girl that’s all we get.”
Love Island UK was set to have its famous summer series this year, but it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic and will not air until summer 2021.
Show bosses felt it would be “impossible to safeguard” those involved with series.
A source said: “ITV want Love Island to be a huge success so have decided to put all their energy into making next summer’s series a bumper run, and not trying to force a Winter version given the uncertainty in the television industry still at this point.
“January 2021 seems a long way off but the process would be starting imminently and with certain restrictions still in place they don’t want to approach anything half-baked.”
An ITV spokesman said: “Love Island UK will return bigger and better than ever with an extended run in summer 2021.”
