Love Island returns with dramatic coupling up

Love Island has made a dramatic return to television screens as the new cohort of contestants took it in turns to poach each other’s partners as they coupled up.

As the contestants tried to secure their ideal match after they entered the villa, 26-year-old lettings manager Faye Winter was picked by three of the five male islanders before ending up with labourer Brad McClelland.

The ITV dating show returned to television screens on Monday for the first time since the winter series in 2020 after it was cancelled last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The series opener showed the contestants arriving in batches as they got acquainted with their fellow islanders and new living environment before the coupling up began.

After all the women had arrived, the men were brought in one by one to pick an islander to couple up with.

Before they made their decision, each of the female contestants was given the opportunity to step forwards to express an interest in the new arrival.

Semi-professional footballer Toby Aromolaran is coupled with fashion blogger Kaz Kamwi and events host Aaron Francis is paired with model Shannon Singh.

Water engineer Jake Cornish is in a couple with waitress and student Liberty Poole, while PE teacher Hugo Hammond is with civil servant Sharon Gaffka.

None of the women had stepped forward for Hugo and Toby.

The episode offered a first look at the revamped filming location in Mallorca, which featured a large infinity pool, panoramic views and aubergine emoji wall decorations.

Shortly before the start of Love Island, ITV tweeted to say its streaming platform was experiencing technical difficulties.

Love Island continues on ITV2 and ITV Hub.