The newest batch of sexy singletons are just hours away from entering the Love Island villa.
It’s not just us mere mortals that are counting down the hours though, as the ITV2 reality dating series manages to draw in some famous faces who are just as eager to watch new love triangles, unexpected bombshells, dramatic friendship fallouts and of course, more Casa Amor chaos.
With season 11’ premiering simultaneously across ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX for the first time ever, The Standard unveils several mega fans of the show who are looking for their type (of contestant) on paper.
Margot Robbie
One of Love Island's most famous fans is Margot Robbie and her husband, film producer Tom Ackerley. The actress first revealed her obsession in 2018 when she was compared to contestant Megan Barton Hanson, although she humorously admitted she didn’t see the resemblance.
During season four, she even got a shout-out on the show during a Twitter Bingo challenge. Margot later met several Love Island stars at the London premiere of Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn and was so excited she invited several of them to the after-party and later to her apartment.
The Oscar nominee even shared her enthusiasm for the show on Lorraine, revealing that director James Gunn was also a huge fan, and they frequently discussed Love Island while working on The Suicide Squad in 2021. She said: “He's also a huge Love Island fan and we would talk about it all the time. We probably spoke about Love Island more than we spoke about this film when we were on set. We even had our drink bottles on set.”
For her 30th birthday, Margot threw a massive Love Island-themed party and transformed her home into the Casa Amor villa. She even dressed in a pink bikini, clear stilettos, and oversized sunglasses, mimicking the signature looks of the show’s contestants.
Margot’s love for the show didn’t stop there, as she recruited former Love Islander Chris Taylor to star in her 2023 summer blockbuster Barbie. At the London premiere for the flick, Margot only had eyes for her reality TV pals, running over to snap selfies with Ekin-Su Culcologlu, Davide Sanclimenti, Liberty Poole and Danica Taylor.
Explaining her love for the series, she shared: “Love Island reminds me of living in London — watching it with my girlfriends when everybody was home from work.''
Nicola Coughlan
Nicola Coughlan, known for her role as Penelope Featherington in Bridgerton, has openly shared her love for Love Island. In 2019, she humorously used the show to explain Brexit, comparing the UK's exit from the EU to Michael Griffiths returning from Casa Amor with Joanna Chimonides, which left Amber Gill heartbroken.
In 2021, her excitement was palpable when Kaz Kamwi and Tyler Cruickshank had a Bridgerton-themed final date on the show, calling it a "huge moment for me."
While filming season three of the Regency-era series, she gave a sweet nod to the ITV2 dating series by posting a photo of two Love Island water bottles featuring the names of her and co-star Luke Newton's characters, Penelope and Colin. Captioning the snap, the Big Mood star quoted one of the show’s well-known phrases "can I pull you for a chat?" by writing, "Can I pull you for a promenade?"
Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown has been quite vocal about her love for Love Island, even sliding into some of the show's stars like Amber Gill, Greg O'Shea, and Dani Dyer DMs.
Dani Dyer revealed on Capital FM how surprised she was to receive a message from the Stranger Things actress, leading to plans for a lunch date. She exclaimed, "I couldn't believe it! I was like, 'Oh my god, Eleven!' Yeah, I did freak out a little bit. But apparently, we are going for lunch soon, so yeah, I’m looking forward to that."
Newlywed Millie has even shared her obsession with her co-stars. Fellow Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp expressed his enthusiasm for the show, commenting on Ellie Brown's Instagram, "I watch you with Millie."
Meanwhile, Millie's Enola Holmes co-star, Henry Cavill, recounted how Millie kept him updated on all the Love Island drama while they were on set. He told Extra, "Whether I wanted it or not, I was getting a full Love Island update every day in the makeup and hair trailer. She was definitely keeping me posted on that, and she was also chasing me around trying to get me to do TikTok videos."
Liam Gallagher
Surprisingly, Oasis star Liam Gallagher previously confessed to being hooked on Love Island. Back in 2019, he showed his support for popular Islander Ovie Soko by tweeting, "Ovie Ovie Ovie Oi Oi Oi LG x."
In 2021, Liam revealed to Chris Moyles that he watched the show every single night. He declared: "I'm hooked on it, man. I don't quite get why they have to sleep on the floor outside, but I love how absurd it is. It's bloody daft, innit? I don't learn anything from it, but it's just on, and I'm into it."
Liam attributed his Love Island obsession to his fiancée, Debbie Gwyther, explaining: "It's not my choice; it's all down to Debbie. We only have one TV in the house, and she gets to decide when there's no football on. So, when it's not football, it's Debbie's TV time."
Then the following year, Liam even hinted at the possibility of joining the villa himself after getting in shape. During LadBible's Ask the Audience feature, when asked which reality TV show people would most like to see him in, Love Island ranked in the top three. He joked, "I ain't got the body for it. When I bring sexy back, when I get my s***t together, I'll be in there. Me and my missus watch it sometimes, but it's for kids, innit."
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham hasn’t just admitted to watching Love Island; she penned an entire opinion piece about it for The Guardian in 2019. She called the show "the cultural touchstone that takes over summers in the United Kingdom" and shared how she personally related to some of the Islanders' experiences.
Reflecting on her own life, she wrote, "Nineteen months ago, I left my first long-term relationship and endured a public breakup. It wasn’t as dramatic as Amy’s but made me feel like Amber after Michael walked back into the villa with Joanna."
The Girls creator expressed her hopes for the couples on the show, predicting that Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae Hague would "have loads of children and teach them to love with the same ferocity that they do."
Summing up the essence of Love Island, she wrote, "The pop music may blare, but this is nothing if not a show of quiet human moments. The real drama lies in what they don’t say as they wash off their bronzer for bed and change into their night-time thongs."
Before meeting her now-husband Luis Felber in 2021, Lena even told Cosmopolitan UK that she would be "tempted" to participate in a version of Celebrity Love Island.
Richard Curtis
Notting Hill creator Richard Curtis is another passionate Love Island fan, who is particularly fond of former contestant Maura Higgins. Curtis previously told Metro.co.uk: "I am quite fond of Lucie [Donlan] even though she’s becoming a complicated cup of tea. Maura is just hilarious. She reminds me of the snake in the Garden of Eden, do you know what I mean?" He also mentioned Danny Williams, describing him as "sweet," and expressed his excitement for the season.
Curtis has previously voiced his admiration for former contestants Montana Brown and Dani Dyer, explaining his fascination with the show: "You see all those moments I try to write about—moments of jealousy, changes in heart and mind—in real-time. It’s absolutely intriguing and funny."
Then in an interview with Radio Times in 2021, the writer even suggested that Love Island portrays love more convincingly than his own films. "You hear about your friend falling in love, but you don't get to watch it. Love Island shows love in action much more convincingly than my films do," he said.
Paul Chuckle
One of the more unexpected fans of Love Island is Paul Chuckle, famous for his role in the iconic ChuckleVision.
In 2018, Paul entertained his followers by live-tweeting his reactions to the show, even throwing a cheeky comment at Islander Georgia Steel.
Not stopping there, the 76-year-old comedian took his fandom to the next level by creating his own audition tape for the series.
In the amusing video, Paul dons a pair of sunglasses and humorously declares he's in search of a girl with a "perfect smile" and a holiday destination "better than Cleethorpes or Barnsley." He also boasts that his "keg" is more impressive than the "six-packs" of the usual contestants.
