Love Island , Glastonbury and an international football tournament were once the holy trinity of a long, hot summer – but now in its 11th series, does the ITV reality show still measure up? Throw in the upcoming general election and there’s no shortage of meme-worthy events vying for our attention. As former Islander Molly-Mae Hague infamously put it, we all have the same 24 hours in a day. So is Love Island worth spending precious time on? We’re only an hour and a half into the current series , but the launch episode delivers a last-minute twist that makes tuning in again irresistible.
The series opener ticks all the usual boxes within minutes: a cheesy opening sequence to introduce the contestants, sweeping shots of Mallorca and at least two twenty-something women looking for men who are “tall, dark and handsome”. The Islanders enter in groups of two or three now, which is a welcome way of speeding up the launch episode – especially as their VTs were all released online last week. Iain Stirling is on fine form, with topical quips – “That’s what the sea looks like when it’s not full of sewage” – and self-deprecating gags, while host Maya Jama, who rightly elicits screams as she walks into the villa, once again brings genuine enthusiasm that brings to mind the show’s original host Caroline Flack.
In another small tweak to the format, the Islanders are given the chance to mingle and get to know each other a little before playing a game, which seees th.