Love Island was back with a bang on ITV2 on Monday evening – and there was no messing about.
The five new female islanders barely had time to pop their prosecco corks before Caroline Flack made her grand entrance, with five hunky men in tow for the first pairing up session of the season.
And, despite a bit of swapping taking place, the villa had its first five couples before long.
Let the coupling commence: Love Islands’s female contestants barely had time to pop their prosecco corks before Caroline Flack introduced five hunky men for the first pairing up session of the season
But there was a cat among the pigeons when a surprise sixth player, Adam, was brought in to rip apart one of the existing pairings.
The hunky personal trainer was brought in to decide who he’d like to pair with, taking his time to chat independently to the ladies of the villa, while their perspective partners watched on, sweating it out.
Regardless of the uncertainty of the couplings, there’s been a slew of odds and predictions released about who will go the distance, who will have sex first and who will win the entire show.
LOVE ISLAND 2018: WHO ARE THE COUPLES?
DR ALEX & SAMIRA
Doctor Dreamy? Alex wasn’t picked at all in the first episode – but ended up coupled with Samira by default
Name: Dr Alex George
Age: 27
Occupation: A&E Doctor
Location: Carmarthen, West Wales
Biggest Turn Off: Alex admits that he doesn’t like ‘high maintenance girls’. Elaborating on this, the hunky doctor says: ‘I think it’s brilliant to look good but spending three hours to get ready to go and walk on the beach is too much for me.’
Fuming: Samira was too picky when it came to picking a partner and found herself lumbered with Dr Alex
Name: Samira Mighty
Age: 22
Occupation: West End Performer
Location: London
Claim To Fame: Samira says her experience on stage has given her a taste of stardom having appeared in Mamma Mia and Dreamgirls. She said: ‘Everyone in the West End knows everybody. So it will be a big shock when they see me on this show.’
EYAL & HAYLEY
Deep? Model Eyal claims to be unlike most models because he ‘can get deep’
Name: Eyal Booker
Age: 22
Occupation: Model
Location: London
Claim To Fame: Eyal was once in a pop band called EverYoung. ‘We had small time success and toured the country, built up a little fan base and there was fan girl hysteria,’ he says.
Unaware: Hayley doesn’t know what ‘superficial’ means
Name: Hayley Hughes
Age: 21
Occupation: Model
Location: Liverpool
Past Relationships: Hayley has had one relationship and is a self-professed inexperienced dater. She says: ‘I’ve only slept with one guy. I was with him for five years.’
KENDALL & NIALL
Squeaky: Kendall was dumped by her fiance merely months ago
Name: Kendall Rae-Knight
Age: 26
Occupation: Shoe Shop Retail Manager
Location: Blackpool
Claim To Fame: She once won Miss North West and represented the North West in the Miss England final, which was in 2015. ‘I stopped most of the pageants and modelling when I met my ex,’ she laments.
Wind up: Niall has been hailed as a ‘Chris Hughes wannabe’
Name: Niall Aslam
Age: 23
Occupation: Student and Construction Worker
Location: Coventry
Thoughts On Loyalty: Niall doesn’t seem too worried about swooping in on another guy’s turf. He says: ‘I don’t care who a lad is if he is big, better looking,I’ll still rock up and try and chat up his missus.’
WES & LAURA
Good dater? Wes – who has ‘never had a bad date’ – is already at risk of being swapped
Name: Wes Nelson
Age: 20
Occupation: Design Engineer
Location: Staffordshire
Best And Worst Features: Wes says that his cheekbones apparently win him many a-compliment but fails at punctuality, claiming that he is always late for things.
Fickle: Laura was initially paired with Dr Alex, before swapping him for Wes and then eyeing up Adam
Name: Laura Anderson
Age: 29
Occupation: Cabin Crew
Location: Stirling, Scotland
Dating [And Cheating] History: Two of Laura’s ex-boyfriends have been in the public eye’. She thinks cheating is ‘the lowest of the low’ but admits she’s been guilty of doing it.
DANI & JACK
At it again: Dani has already tried to become a reality star this year on ITV’s Survival Of The Fittest
Name: Dani Dyer
Age: 21
Occupation: Barmaid
Location: East London
Claim To Fame: Dani’s father is EastEnders actor Danny Dyer. Her dad is said to have told his daughter ahead of her entry to the villa that she ‘has to do what she has to do’. She was sure to inform Jack who her father was within moments of pairing up with him.
Pen pals: Jack sells stationery for a living… something Dani finds hilarious but endearing
Name: Jack Fincham
Age: 26
Occupation: Stationery Sales
Location: Kent
Worst Date: Before entering the villa, Jack recalled: ‘I took a girl out to a lovely pub and I was trying to be cool, ordered some drinks for us and then as I put my hand up to pay for them, I knocked the drinks back on to the barman and they poured down him and smashed on the floor. Fuming!’
UNCOUPLED: ADAM
Swooping in: Adam is uncoupled… but seems to have his eye on Dani and Laura
Name: Adam Collard
Age: 22
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Gym Director
Location: Newcastle
Dating [And Cheating] History: Adam admits he’s cheated before and that although he felt guilty about it he was young at the time. He claims he ‘gets a lot of attention’ when he is dating someone and that he once walked out on a first date because it was so terrible, essentially leaving the girl high and dry.
Jack and Dani – who paired up immediately on the first episode of the current season – have been named as the early favourites to win Love Island this year.
Their odds of winning have been slashed by Ladbrokes into just 3/1; Niall and Kendall’s romance follows next behind at 6/1, with Eyal and Hayley chalked up at 8/1.
The remaining two couples are destined for trouble as they are both quoted with double figure prices. However, should Adam steal Laura away from Wes there’s a 20/1 chance they’ll win.
Cat among the pigeons: Should Adam steal Laura away from Wes there’s a 20/1 chance they’ll win
Make your mind up: Laura has flitted between three men so far, in just 24 hours of the show being back
Betway say that Dani has odds of 4/6 to be Adam’s pick, while Laura is being backed at 5/2.
Kendall is 3/1 to change hands, while Hayley and Samira may not have caught Adam’s eye and can be backed at 14/1 and 20/1 respectively.
Other odds see Danny Dyer on even-money to enter the show and Alex 6/4 for an early departure from the villa.
There’s also odds on how much sex is going to be had, with bookmakers believing this season will have more sex, and complaints, than any of its predecessors.
Unlucky: Dr Alex hasn’t had a positive start to the season
Competition: Who will Alex choose as his new partner?
Currently odds-on at 1/10 – around a 90 per cent chance – Paddy Power say this season will see more romps than ever before, as contestants wax lyrical about their bedroom antics.
Also, it looks as though it could be a busy summer for Ofcom, with the odds at evens for there to be more complaints than any previous series of the show.
Kendall (3/1) is the current favourite of the girls to have sex first, after swearing revenge on her ex-fiancé. Meanwhile, Geordie Adam and doctor Alex are rated most-likely of the men (both 7/2).