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Love Island 2021: What time does it start? Where is it filmed? Who is in the cast?

 Civil servant Sharon Gaffka is among the contestants in Love Island 2021 (ITV)
Civil servant Sharon Gaffka is among the contestants in Love Island 2021 (ITV)

It’s official. Love Island is back - and is set to be more engrossing and addictive than ever.

The show, which first began back in 2015, has produced reality stars such as Kem Cetinay, Dani Dyer, Molly-Mae Hague and Olivia Buckland over the years.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Love Island is an ITV2 dating show that sees a group of singletons live in a villa for eight weeks over the summer. In order to stay on the show - and in the villa - they must couple up.

The show is usually filmed in Mallorca - though the winter version of the series, which was broadcast in early 2020, was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Molly Mae Hague (PA)
Molly Mae Hague (PA)

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 summer series of Love Island was postponed.

But now its making a comeback. Here is what you need to know.

When does Love Island 2021 start?

The new series will begin on June 28.

It will air on ITV2 every evening at 9pm other than on Saturdays.

All episodes will also be on the ITV Hub to catch up.

Who is the host of Love Island?

Love Island will be hosted by new mother Laura Whitmore.

The 33-year-old first stepped in to the hosting role after her friend, the late Caroline Flack, stepped down at the end of 2019.

Whitmore hosted the first 2020 winter series in South Africa.

Ian Stirling - Laura’s husband - will be back for his hilarious voiceovers.

Who are the new contestants?

Sharon Gaffka – Civil servant

25-year-old Gaffka is a former Miss International United Kingdom, winning the pageant in 2018.

She studied law at university and works for the Department of Transport.

Aaron Francis – Model and luxury events host

Francis, 24, is a model and luxury events host from London whose worked at high-profile events such as Princess Eugenie and Beatrice’s weddings.

Liberty Poole – Waitress and marketing student

Poole, 21, is an undergraduate student studying marketing. The Birmingham native currently works at Nando’s.

Hugo Hammond – PE teacher

Hailing from Hampshire, Hugo Hammond works as a secondary school PE teacher.

The 24-year-old has also played for cricket for England’s physical disability team, having been born with clubfoot.

Shannon Singh – Model

The 22-year-old from Fife, Scotland originally worked as a glamour model, but now works more commercially while influencing and DJing on the side.

Jake Cornish – Water engineer

Cornish from Weston-Super-Mare is looking for love having just come out of a seven-year relationship when lockdown began.

Kaz Kamwi – Blogger

The Essex based fashion blogger said that her friends and family would describe her as “fun, dramatic, spontaneous. Friendly as well.”

She’s also got some dating horror stories to tell, having once gone out with a “mystery restaurant diner” who made her pay for her meal while he ate his for free and wrote a review, reported the Independent.

Brad McClelland – Labourer

Northumberland’s McClelland still lives with his nan and has never been on a date before. The 26-year-old also admits that he tries to “make as much money as I can by doing as little as possible”.

Where will it be filmed?

The usual location for filming Love Island is Mallorca.

It has been suggested the show will return there - but nothing has been confirmed.

An insider told MailOnline crew members are “scheduled to fly out to Mallorca on June 20.”

ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri told Radio Times: “We haven’t announced anything officially but Mallorca is very much the home of Love Island.

“I can’t confirm anything 100 per cent at this stage but it will definitely be the Love Island viewers know and love.”

It has been reported that there is a back-up location in Jersey in case of Covid complications.

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