Love Island is well and truly back for its second ever winter series.
This season of the dating show filmed in South Africa and hosted by Maya Jama.
The initial lineup included a contestant with vitiligo, the show’s first partially sighted star, and someone who once worked as Emma Watson’s body double.
Footballer Tom Clare was one of the first bombshell contestants to join the villa.
Here’s everything you need to know about Tom...
What football team does Tom Clare play for?
Tom is a 23-year-old footballer from Skelmersdale in Lancashire. He plays for non-league Macclesfield FC and was the team’s top scorer from the 2021/2022 season.
He has been granted an “extended period of leave” to appear on the show, with the club saying that Tom had expressed an “unwavering desire” to return after the show.
How tall is Tom?
At six foot five, Tom is sure to tower over his fellow contestants.
What did he say he would bring to the villa?
Tom said that he’s a “good laugh” and a “good vibe”, an upfront guy who won’t be “snakey” in the villa.
What is Tom looking for on the show?
Tom’s not interested in girls who are “stuck up”, saying it can put him off even a girl who’s “10 out of 10”.
Another “ick” for him is poor oral hygiene, while he said he’s not into girls who go all out on the “birthday make-up”.
"You know when make-up is done professionally for an event and it’s just too much, like blue eyeshadow and stuff? Girls don’t need that,” he says.
What is Tom’s Instagram?
Tom’s Instagram page is @tomclare__. However, you’ll have to wait until he leaves the villa to see his posts due to a change in this series of Love Island.
Unlike previous years, in which the islanders’ profiles have been run by their friends and family, the winter 2023 contestants have been asked by ITV to make their accounts “dormant” for the duration of their time on the show.
ITV have brought in this measure to help lessen the “adverse effects of social media” on the contestants.
