It may be (very) cold outside but things are set to heat up with the return of Love Island. A fresh batch of singletons will be hoping to find love on only the second-ever winter edition of the hit ITV2 dating show.
Winter Love Island had its first outing back in 2020 in the weeks before the pandemic. But now it's back and instead of Mallorca, the new islanders have jetted out to South Africa where they'll call the Ludus Magnus villa - which boasts Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, an outdoor gym, a wooden treehouse, a vineyard, a stage area and not forgetting the infamous firepit - home.
Kai Fagan is one of 10 initial contestants who will enter the winter Love Island villa alongside financial advisor Ron Hall, celebrity makeup artist Lana Jenkins, TV salesman Haris Namani, ring girl Olivia Hawkins, student Tanya Manhenga, hair stylist Tanyel Revan, administrator Anna-May Robey, airport security officers Shaq Muhammad and farmer Will Young.
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But what do we know about Kai? The 24-year-old, from Manchester, is a science and PE teacher who also plays semi-professional rugby for Burnage RFC.
While he will be making his TV debut, Kai's second cousin is already known for being on the small screen. Dean Fagan was in Coronation Street from 2014 to 2018 where he played mechanic Luke Britton. More recently, Dean starred as Stevie in the three-part BBC One television drama Time and appeared in the second series of the in the RTÉ One thriller drama series Smother, in which he portrayed Denis Ahern's estranged son, Finn.
And that's not Kai's only claim to fame as he was in the same class as England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford. "[Marcus was] really quiet, really quiet all through school, quite reserved, focused on football, got a scholarship from [Manchester United] when he was like 11 years old so he was always trying to be the next big thing," Kai revealed.
And he said that the sportsman's work raising awareness on free school meals and poverty has been "inspiring". He added: "There are so many kids who are going to school that don’t have the right nutrition, that don’t have food, that don’t have anything. There are kids going to school that don’t have uniforms… So what he’s been doing for the communities, it’s absolutely amazing."
Kai, who is a Jamaican citizen and played rugby 7s for Jamaica, also said his students who urged him to be on Love Island will be "buzzing" at seeing his name confirmed. When asked about how his school feels about him being on the dating show, he added: "I handed in my resignation at that school, but a massive part of teaching and part of the teaching standards is developing good personalities, good relationships and positive relationships.
"So I think if I demonstrate that I can develop positive relationships on TV, then there’s nothing stopping me from going back to teaching in the future if that’s what I want to do."
Asked why he chose to appear in Love Island, Kai said: "When you first meet someone you never normally get to spend that much time with them, so when you’re genuinely looking for a connection, the Villa is the perfect place to do it." As for what he'll bring to the villa, he said: "I’m pretty lighthearted, I love a laugh. I’m really calm and chilled as well, pretty level-headed, quite mature... but not too mature."
Love Island starts at 9pm Monday 16th January on ITV2 and ITVX.
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