Love Island series 13 got underway with a jaw-dropping twist that left fans floored.
In an unprecedented move for the programme, 12 gorgeous singletons descended upon the villa during the evening for a star-lit welcome party, dressed to the nines, rather than the traditional daytime gathering in their swimwear.
Shedding light on the significant shake-up, Executive Producer Lewis Evans explained: “In the first episode we’re changing things. We’re doing something that we’ve never done before in the history of Love Island.”
He continued: “We’re going to take a big risk and we hope it pays off. The challenges will be different, you’ll also see that in the villa we’ve got a new space where there’s more beds, [and] with more beds comes more bombshells.”
View 4 Images12 gorgeous singletons descended upon the villa during the evening for a star-lit welcome party(Image: ITV)
Weighing in on the launch night shake-up, series seven and All Stars series one fan favourite Kaz Kamwi said on behalf of BestBettingSites.co.uk: “It’s so fresh. I felt like I was watching a whole new show. It was nothing like my one.”, reports OK!.
She gushed: “Night time entrances? This is tea. You get the come in a sexy outfit, not worry about your makeup melting in the sun. Those lucky, lucky girls have no idea what that feels like. I’m so jealous.”
“I also liked how they had the boys and the girls come in together that was nice because then it just breaks the ice, breaks tension and I think whoever you come in the villa with, you always have like a little bond so it just makes it nice for the friendships as well.”
View 4 ImagesThe Islanders dressed to impress(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
Alongside the fresh night-time entrance, the Islanders were also permitted to select their preferred coupling partners amongst themselves without any games or public vote for guidance.
Kaz, who initially featured on the programme five years ago, revealed: “We had to step forward for the boy we liked. I always say to people, we got humiliation ritual. liked the twist. It’s Love Island Hunger Games edition. I wish I had that.
“I feel like the last couple of series I’ve been able to predict a little bit of what’s happening just based on my experiences in there twice but I don’t know what’s going on and I like that.”
View 4 ImagesKaz Kamwi has had her say on the format shake-up(Image: ITV)
At the conclusion of Monday’s (June 1) episode, two fresh bombshells Yasmin Hadlow and George Knight entered and were handed a confidential task by presenter Maya – to select two Islanders to depart the villa within 24 hours.
Viewers will need to wait and discover who survives the opening dumping of the season and how the double elimination impacts the existing connections in the villa.
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It’s extremely early stages in the Love Island villa, but gamblers are already supporting two Islanders to succeed long-term, with Sean “Fitzy” Fitzgerald and Robyn Langton-Quantrell leading the odds following the opening night.
Love Island airs nightly on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm