Love Island's Lana Jenkins has revealed she was approached to take part in the ITV2 dating show as she prepares to head into the villa.
Makeup artist Lana, 25, revealed she hadn't thought about going on the show before she was scouted, but the blonde is now an early favourite to win the whole series.
Lana tops the lineup of girls entering the villa as a favourite to win with odds of 9/4, according to bookmaker Betway. Meanwhile, Kai Fagan is the bookies' favourite to be crowned the winner of the series for the boys – with odds of 100/3.
But the humble blonde beauty, who previously dated I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Owen Warner, was surprised when she was told of her odds of taking the cash prize.
Speaking to the Mirror and a pool of journalists ahead of her villa entrance, Lana reacted to being told she was a favourite to win as she said: "That's crazy! You know what, I've come into this with no expectations and no thoughts about where this is gonna go and what's gonna happen.
"So that's really nice, but kind of unexpected. I'm like a bit shocked by that."
Lana also revealed she was scouted by the ITV show to take part in the new series.
Speaking about her experience of signing up to take part, Lana spilled: "It's been so amazing from the get go. I was approached for the show and I don't think I really thought about doing it prior to that – I was kind of just working and didn't really have it in my head.
"And then when it came about, I just thought: 'You know what, this is an opportunity that not many people get and I'm single, I'm young... I think I'm still young at 25!
"So I thought why not go for something and why not try and find someone that way?
"So when I approached it [the idea] to my mum, she was amazing. She was like, 'Absolutely go for it. When do you get an opportunity like this?'
"But also my mum was like, 'you need to think about everything'... 'Let's sit down, let's have chats about it'.
"But the pros are endless and I'm just really thankful that I've got this opportunity!"
Makeup artist Lana is already accustom to the industry as she previously revealed she worked as an extra on sitcom Benidorm as a child.
She spilled: "In my work as a makeup artist I’ve worked with lots of celebrities. Also, when I was 6-years-old I used to live in Spain and I was in an episode of Benidorm as an extra."
Meanwhile, it has also been revealed that Lana previously dated I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Owen Warner in 2020.
Lana had shared a loved-up snap of the two together on Instagram – but has since deleted the image.
It is understood that Lana and Owen got to know each other after being introduced through mutual friends when she worked on CBBC's So Awkward.
Their romance seemingly only lasted a few months as they decided to go their separate ways.
