Love Island bosses reveal why Joey Essex twist worked

Love Island doesn’t shy away from surprise bombshells, from ex-girlfriends to former iconic Islanders looking for a second chance at love, the reality series has done it all.

It was first in 2022 when the series reintroduced Adam Collard to the villa, four years after his original stint, before bringing in Kady McDermott and more recently, Joey Essex.

Joey’s entrance to the villa was unprecedented to say the least, given he had no ties to Love Island and was famous in his own right, but certainly brought the drama with his ex-girlfriend Grace Jackson, who was in the villa.

The regular Love Island series has thrown a famous spanner into the works since Joey’s time in the villa – but could this be the year that changes? Perhaps not.

Speaking to Radio Times and other press, supervising executive producer Lewis Evans revealed that there have been celebrities who have expressed an interest in appearing on Love Island, but there are no plans for a bombshell like Joey’s to happen in the upcoming series.

However commissioning editor Amanda Stavri remained optimistic, saying: “We’re pretty open-minded when it comes to casting. You never want to close anything off, so I think we’re pretty open-minded. But it’s just getting the right person at the right moment, and Joey was that person, and partly because his ex-girlfriend, Grace, had been cast so it made sense.”

Joey’s time in the villa was met with criticisms from fans, with many suggesting he was in the villa simply to cause drama, despite finding romance for a brief period.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Times towards the end of the 2024 series, Love Island’s creative director Mike Spencer opened up on his decision to cast Joey, and was quick to defend the rumours Joey was a favourite or being paid for his appearance on the reality show.

“I’ve known Joey for years and I think he’s such a standout character and I felt like it was just a neat thing to do,” Spencer said of Joey’s bombshell entrance.

“Joey has been looking for love himself and it feels like he found it with Jessy, and I think it was an interesting trick to do to the viewer.”

Read more:

He noted that Joey was “treated like every other Islander” and did not receive any preferential treatment simply because he was a well-known name in comparison to the others.

He continued: “There have been lots of speculation about if he’s getting paid, he’s absolutely not. He really wanted to look for love and he’s coming to the age now where’s he’s looking to settle down, and I think that no mobile phones, no distractions, he’s a media personality. But in this villa, he’s just Joey and I think it was really needed to do.

“And I think it helped kind of kick off the series with a fresh twist, which the viewers always seem to love.”

Love Island returns on Monday 1 June at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

Add Love Island to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.