Love Island fans have been heaping praise on “selfless” winners Kai and Sanam after the couple revealed what they plan to spend part of their £50,000 prize money on.
In case you missed it, nearly two months after the smash-hit ITV reality competition show returned to our screens for its ninth series and it’s second Winter edition, and a whole new lineup of hopeful singletons made the trip to South Africa in the look for love, the winners of Love Island 2023 were announced live on Monday night.
Host Maya Jama revealed that fan-favourite couple Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan had clinched the coveted win.
The 24-year-old PE and Science teacher from Manchester, and the 24-year-old Social Worker from Bedford, beat runners-up Ron Hall and Lana Jenkins to take home the £50,000 prize money.
Tom Clare and Samie Elishi came in third, while Tanya Manhenga and Shaq Muhammad took fourth.
The couple certainly captured the hearts of Love Island fans after their romance first blossomed in Casa Amor when Sanam entered as a ‘bombshell’, and survived all other challenges thrown at it throughout the series.
ITV revealed yesterday that Kai and Sanam walked away with a huge 44% of the public final vote, compared to Lana and Ron’s second place of 30%.
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Kai and Sanam are the first winners in the show’s history to have coupled-up in Casa Amor.
Kai – who also played semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC alongside his teaching career – told presenter Maya Jama that Sanam had “blown me away straight away” after her introduction on the show, while Sanam admitted that “it was always Kai”.
“I always said he was my number one and that, of course he is a very attractive guy, but apart from the looks, like I was just like… he’s an amazing guy, everything about him,” she added.
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Love Island winners Kai and Sanam to spend part of £50k prize money on ‘helping kids’ / Credit: ITV
Now, the couple have spoken out for the first time since leaving the villa to dish on how they plan to spend their £50,000 winnings.
While they said that jetting off on a couple’s holiday is definitely on the cards as soon as they get the chance to, they also explained how they plan to stay true to and honour their roots as a teacher and social worker by using part of the prize money to “help kids” – which has seen fans praise them for their “selfless” response.
In their first interview since being crowned Love Island 2023 winners, Kai and Sanam admitted that they know they have to be “sensible” with their prize money.
Kai explained: “Before I came in here, I wanted to start up a business and help kids get into physical activity. I don’t want to turn my back on teaching, working with young kids and think I will use some of that to do that.
“I am not sure yet in what capacity.”
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“That’s similar to me,” Sanam added, “I came from social work – working with children who have been adopted. I know that sometimes in my area there can be limited services, so for me I want to be able to do something to aid and support them, being an advocate for them.”
Kai added: “Both our careers were pretty similar when we came in here, and the conversations we had and the reasons why we were doing them were very similar.”
Featured Image – ITV
TV & Showbiz
Channel 4 to air exclusive new documentary about the disappearance and death of Lancashire teen Jay Slater
Emily Sergeant
An exclusive new documentary taking an inside look at the the disappearance of Jay Slater is coming to Channel 4.
On the morning of 17 June 2024, 19-year-old Jay Slater – an apprentice bricklayer from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle – disappeared on the island of Tenerife in Spain, after attempting to walk 14 hours back to his accommodation when there was no local taxi service available and no bus due for 90 minutes.
From then commenced one of the biggest missing persons cases in recent British history.
As the world’s media were following the story minute by minute last summer, producers at Channel 4 were in the incredibly-unique position where they had access to the Coronial process in Lancashire, and this has led to the exclusive documentary title The Disappearance of Jay Slater.
From Jay’s post-mortem to Jay’s inquest, the team have been with the family every step of the way over the last year, as they try and understand exactly what happened to Jay outside of the public gaze
Jay was ultimately pronounced dead on 15 July 2024 after Spanish police reported the discovery of a body in the vicinity of the area of interest, but before this discovery and eventual announcement, the internet became awash with public discourse, conspiracy theories, and more.
The Disappearance of Jay Slater is described as being ‘the family’s story’.
Channel 4 will air an exclusive new documentary about the disappearance and death of Lancashire teen Jay Slater / Credit: GoFundMe
The documentary is set to follow them as they search for answers about what happened to Jay, witnessing the conspiracy theories raging online and the subsequent horrific abuse they received as a family – which is an hourly onslaught that continues to this day.
These cameras were the only media in the world granted full access to film both Jay’s post-mortem and inside the church at his funeral.
But the broadcaster claims this documentary is not only the story of Jay’s tragedy, it’s also the story of ‘the new world we live in’ where so-called true crime armchair detectives run wild.
“The story of Jay Slater captured the nation last summer with a fervour and intensity fuelled by armchair detectives and internet culture,” commented Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor, Rita Daniels, ahead of the documentary airing.
“We are so glad to be working on a sensitively handled exploration of the family’s experience, and understanding the impact of being in the middle of a social media storm, amplified by grief.
“The film holds a light up to our current society and is exactly the story that is a necessity for Channel 4 to tell.”
Executive Producer Anna Hall added: “It is appalling what has happened to Jay’s family, and we hope this film will help to bring awareness of the real life consequences of online speculation. It is an unmonitored world where fake news runs rife, and this film shows the devastating impact this has had on one grieving family.”
The Disappearance of Jay Slater is expected to air on Channel 4 later this year, but no official dates have been confirmed as of yet, so keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – GoFundMe
TV & Showbiz
TikTok star turned pop star Addison Rae announces gig in Manchester
Thomas Melia
Viral TikTok star and now recording artist, Addison Rae, has announced her first-everheadline European tour, where she’ll be paying Manchester a visit, and tickets go on sale this week.
After launching into the music scene back in 2021 with pure pop single, ‘Obsessed’, Addison made her pop star intentions very clear.
Since then, Addison has gone on to work with high-profile artists such as Charli XCX, who appears as a feature on track ‘2 Die 4’ taken from her first EP, ‘AR’.
Addison also contributed to the inescapable phenomenon of last year that was ‘Brat Summer’, appearing on the aforementioned A-list artist’s Brat remix album, on a reworking of the hit ‘Von Dutch’.
With more than 88.5 million followers on TikTok alone and north of 35 million on Instagram, it goes without saying that her legions of ‘Sunraes’ (yes, a real term used by some in the community) will be lining up to get tickets to her UK tour dates.
Now the singer is ready to take the world by storm, confirming a US and European tour following the release of her debut album, simply titled Addison.
This LP, which features standouts like smash single ‘Diet Pepsi’, ‘Aquamarine’ and ‘Fame Is A Gun’, has been met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
The fledgling 24-year-old American-born pop star is a big fan of the UK, so much so that one of the singles from this very debut album, ‘Headphones On’, includes a music video dedicated to frozen food retailer Iceland.
See for yourself…
Addison Rae is set to bring ‘The Addison Tour’ – her first on the continent and here in Britain and Ireland – to Manchester Academy on 30 August, with general admission going on sale this Friday, 20 June.
So, if you’re a fan, get ready to grab yours HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2023 
