Love Island star Liam Llewellyn saw the number of followers he had on Instagram balloon by more than 1,200 per cent in the five days he stayed on the ITV series.
Data from digital growth company SEO Works analysed the social media following of each Love Island contestant in the current series before and after they entered the villa.
It found that Llewellyn’s following grew from 14,300 before he started the show to 194,000, an increase of 1,256.64 per cent.
His was the largest increase in followers, followed by Luca Bish, who saw his own following grow by 1,230.43 per cent, from 11,500 to 153,000.
It comes after Llewellyn announced he was quitting the show just five days into the new series, because he hadn’t “been himself”.
The 22-year-old had been initially paired with Gemma Owen after the public vote, but she went on to couple up with newcomer Davide Sanclimenti.
According to SEO Works, Owen did not see the biggest growth in her Instagram following, but she still has the highest number of followers, which stands at 138,000.
Other Love Island contestants with the biggest growth in followers are Paige Thorne, who saw her follower count jump from 13,700 to 129,000, and Sanclimenti, who went from 9,500 followers to 81,800.
The producers of the popular dating show were criticised by viewers for apparently focusing on 19-year-old Owen, who is the daughter of former England footballer Michael Owen.
Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid also expressed dismay at the show’s editing and remarked on Monday: “Is it Love Island or Gemma Owen Island? She’s at the heart of every story so far.”
The other Islanders are unaware of Owen’s parentage, except Llewellyn, who discovered it after leaving the show.
After finding out, he said: “I can’t believe who that actually was. That’s mad. I’m a Newcastle United fan. I actually have one of his tops when he came to the club.
“That first night, we were chatting about football and her family. I was so close. I can’t believe I didn’t quite work it out.”
