Written by Jessica Goddard

Much to the delight of reality TV lovers, the popular summertime dating show Love Island will be back on our screens again early next year. Although the official ITV Twitter account confirmed back in July that there would be two series in 2020, viewers have been for the most part left in the dark about what the new winter Love Island will entail.

However, bosses have now released all sorts of information and spoilers about the series, including a start date, where it will be filmed and who will be presenting the show. Maybe the January blues won’t be so bad this time around after all!

Love Island winter 2019.png
Source: TellyMix

When will it start?

The new series is predicted to start on January 8 and will run for six weeks (two weeks shorter than the summer edition of the series). According to MailOnline, staff will be flying out to the villa on New Year’s Day, with the contestants arriving just before the show is due to start. This means that fans only have just over a month to wait before getting their next Love Island fix.

The additional episodes have come in replacement of ITV’s last winter reality series, Survival of the Fittest, which only ran for one season in February 2018.

Where is the villa?

Now for the next big question on everyone’s minds – where will it be filmed? Well, we also have the answer for you on this one.

Some viewers may have noticed that Caroline Flack actually revealed the location of Cape Town in South Africa in the last series of Love Island back in the summer. With the average temperature in the city in January being 29 degrees, contestants will be sure to go home with a nice tan.

Who will be the host?

It’s come as no surprise that Caroline Flack will be returning to present her sixth series of the show. The glamorous 40-year-old has presented each of the series since the show’s return back in 2015.

People may be even more pleased to know that the show’s narrator, Ian Stirling, will also be reprising his role as the voice behind the everyday activities of the villa in January. The show just wouldn’t be the same without his witty comments and dad jokes.

Caroline Love Island.png
Source: Metro

Rumoured contestants

Although no one has actually been confirmed yet to be appearing on the next series of the show, the RadioTimes has some predictions as to who might be looking for love in January.

Charles Drury

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3hEd8qhXWk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The model and business owner has over 10,000 followers on Instagram and was apparently approached for the last series, a source told The Sun, but he was seeing someone at the time.

Talking about the upcoming series, the source said: “Nothing’s signed yet and he’s not even sure if he wants to do it but they’re keen to meet him.

Jay Munro

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5aO62EhKWi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Another model on the list of possible winter islanders is Jay. Set to be a big hit with the tattoo loving ladies, Jay is from Scotland and has over 67,000 Instagram followers. The ex-footballer is also a keen traveller and has previously appeared on the Australian version of The Voice.

Ellis Iyayi

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3m42ZKnYr2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Unsurprisingly, Ellis is also a model and has worked with several big clothing companies including Asos, JD, Gymshark and Nike. Originally from Leeds, Ellis works as a personal trainer alongside his modelling, however, a source told The Sun that he is “over the moon” about potentially going into the villa and taking his career in a different direction.

Can I still apply to go on the show?

Unfortunately, if you haven’t applied already, you have sadly missed the boat on the chance of a free holiday and finding love in the sun as applications closed on 30th November.

Although it may seem that the producers are going for a certain type of contestant judging by the rumoured candidates, it is thought that they are actually looking for a wider variety of personalities and looks for January’s show.

The Sun has exclusively revealed that talent spotters have been sent out to look for twins, goth girls and Essex lads, as well as the usual girl-next doors and personal trainers.

So that’s the low down for the spanking-new series of Love Island coming this January. The question is, will it be a bit hit like the summer version of the series or will viewer ratings fail to hit predictions? We only have a few weeks left to find out.