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
ITV is reviving an iconic music trivia gameshow Name That Tune from the 70s
Emily Sergeant
ITV is set to revive one of the most iconic music-themed gameshows of all time for a new generation.
That’s right – Name That Tune is making a comeback.
Based on the successful US format of the same name, and airing in the UK on its original run from 1976 through to 1987, before being rebooted for the first time by Channel 5 from 1997-98, Name That Tune is being revived for the third time and is set to hit screens on ITV early next year.
If you’re unfamiliar with the premise of the show, Name That Tune sees contestants pitted against each other as their music knowledge is put to the test in a series of fast-paced rounds that featuring tracks from some of the world’s best-loved music artists and bands across every genre, all building towards a nail-biting finale.
Competitors will be tasked with correctly deciphering iconic riffs, melodies and lyrics from some of the biggest songs on the planet.
Set to be presented by Alison Hammond, and with a studio audience singing along, the show’s reboot will invite viewers at home to play from their living rooms, making it the ultimate soundtrack for all generations.
Every round is designed to challenge music enthusiasts by asking them just one simple question – can you name that tune?
“As a massive music lover, my biggest challenge as a host will be trying not to grab the mic and start singing along when one of my all-time favourite tunes comes on,” commented Alison Hammond as she was announced as the host for the reboot.
“And trust me… that will take serious self control.
“I grew up absolutely loving the original show so being part of this now feels like a real full-circle moment. I cannot wait to get into the studio, put the contestants through their paces, and see who really knows their music.”
ITV has told viewers to expect the show to be ‘bigger, louder, and more feel-good than ever’ once it returns in January.
Featured Image – ITV
TV & Showbiz
BBC cancel three hit shows, including legendary stand-up series, Live at the Apollo
Danny Jones
The BBC have reportedly cancelled three of their hit TV shows, including the long-standing Live at the Apollo.
With the company facing even more cuts and the television industry facing the ever-changing obstacles set about by increasingly dominant digital platforms, the hit live stand-up series, which has run for over two decades, is the latest big IP on the chopping block.
But that’s not all: joining them in cancellation after long stints on the box are Celebrity Mastermind and the most recently rebooted version of British favourite, Blankety Blank, brought back with Bradley Walsh as host back in 2020.
With roughly 65 full-length seasons between them, and literally hundreds of episodes under their belt, the unfortunate trio have fallen foul for varying reasons.
At first I read that as Celebrity Masterchef, but that show is immortal.
Really surprised to see Live at the Apollo go. It can't cost much and has been instrumental in giving many comedians their big TV breaks. https://t.co/BrT8k2hoYd
While Walsh announced that he was quitting the programme after three series (the fourth was set to begin recording later this year) largely due to scheduling conflicts, the driving force behind the decision is the aforementioned cutbacks.
In case you hadn’t heard, the BBC has seen an approximately £500 million reduction in annual spending, which has meant that one or more productions were always going to be hit hard as a result.
They are aiming to save upwards of £100m annually, which is set to come in the form of 100-150 hours less originally telly by the end of 2028.
Issuing an official statement, they say: “We are incredibly proud of all three of these much-loved shows and would like to thank everyone involved, both in front of and behind the camera, for bringing them to screen and making them such a success over many years.
“Unfortunately, we have to make some really tough choices in light of our funding challenges, and these savings have been identified from the entertainment genre.”
With Live at the Apollo, in particular, having served as an important proving ground and spotlighting stage for rising comics, the UK mainstay originally hosted by Jack Dee is sadly going the way of Mock the Week by being pulled after 22 years on the air.
As you can see, it’s already been heavily mourned by performers around the comedy circuit and fans alike. It goes without saying that those within the industry know all too well how important it’s been.
Unfortunately, more announcements and cuts are expected throughout the remainder of the year as the BBC‘s entertainment arm tries to regain profitability.
This means that these three likely won’t be the last to be axed; who knows? Given that even the biggest of IPs don’t seem to be safe, maybe even mainline Mastermind could be in trouble…
It’s also worth noting that this news comes not long after the media giants launched their big campaign to reassert their domestic significance and beyond, with more and more people straying away from the TV licence in favour of modern streaming.
You can read the full ‘savings’ update right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2023 
