Michelle Keegan‘s ‘body double’, and a PE teacher and part-time rugby player from Manchester, are just two of the contestants heading into the Love Island villa.
Yes, whether you can believe it or not, it’s that time again.
Just less than six months after Davide and Ekin-Su stole the nation’s hearts, smash-hit reality competition show Love Island is set to return to screens for its 9th series, and it’s second Winter edition, and ITV has today revealed the lineup of hopeful singletons who will be making the trip to South Africa in the look for love.
The show is returning for the first of two series this year on Monday 19 January.
With brand-new host Maya Jama taking over presenting duties, ITV says contestants will be guided through the “twists and turns of coupling up” in a jaw-dropping villa.
ADVERTISEMENT
Love Island is back for its 9th series on Monday 19 January on ITV2 / Credit: ITV
Greater Manchester and the North West has always been well represented on Love Island over the years, and this series looks set to be no different – with 24-year-old Kai Fagan from Manchester revealed as one of the lads heading into the villa.
Claiming to have three different degrees from three different universities, Kai works as a PE and Science teacher, but also plays semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC.
ADVERTISEMENT
He describes himself as “chilled, caring, and very impulsive”.
“I’m single by choice,” Kai explained in his ITV Love Island cast announcement bio, “I’m looking for the right girl. I feel like I have quite high expectations. I don’t feel I should commit to someone unless I’m absolutely buzzing over them, because it’s not fair on them.”
While Kai may be the only person actually from Manchester on the lineup so far, the region is somewhat also represented by the fact that another one of the contestants is 27-year-old ring girl and actress Olivia Hawkins – who says one of her claims to fame is the fact she has acted as the body double for Mancunian actress Michelle Keegan.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I did a film with Jason Statham and had a nice 10-minute convo about life,” Olivia said.
“I’ve been a ring girl for KSI, I played a waitress in James Bond with Daniel Craig, and I’ve also been a body double for Michelle Keegan and Emma Watson.”
The Love Island 2023 lineup / Credit: ITV
A farmer, a TV salesman, an airport security officer, and a hair stylist are just a handful of the other contestants taking part in the new series.
Love Island is back on ITV2 and ITVX on Monday 19 January at 9pm.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’
Emily Sergeant
Call yourself a clever clogs? The BBC is currently looking for contestants to take part in what is widely considered the hardest quiz show on TV.
That’s right – Only Connect is back for another series on BBC Two.
Presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell and first broadcast all the way back in 2008, Only Connect takes TV quizzing to the next level, as it sees two teams compete against each other by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
In this quiz show – which viewers have dubbed one of the most challenging there is – knowledge only takes you so far, as the ability to think laterally is also deemed ‘vitally important’.
A casting call for the upcoming 2027 series has been shared on the BBC website, with people from Greater Manchester encouraged to apply.
Mancs wanted to take part in a new series of the ‘hardest quiz show on TV’ / Credit: BBC
The casting call reads: “The popular BBC Two quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell returns for a new series in 2027.
“Only Connect is seeking teams of three players OR single applicants or teams of two looking for like-minded teammates to pool their combined wits to solve fiendish conundrums and vexing puzzles.
“This is the quiz series where, as in life itself, knowledge will only take you so far: patience and lateral thinking are also vital. It’s all about making connections between things which may appear, at first glance, not to be connected at all.”
Reckon you’ve got what it takes then? Applications are now open, and all applicants must be aged 18 or over and a resident in the UK or Channel Islands.
Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Emily Sergeant -
9th January 2023 
