Season 9 (UK)

Season 9 is the ninth season of the British version of Love Island, hosted by Maya Jama and premiering January 16th, 2023 on ITV2.

Production[]

On June 23rd, 2022 it was announced by ITV2 and ITV Studios that from 2023 onwards, the show would once again be attempting to produce 2 seasons per year with the first of these airing in January,2023, while the usual summer season would also air later with an 8-week run. This came after record ratings were recorded for the then-current season, with 5 million views being recorded for the season's opening episode across all platforms, as well as having attained 7.5 million streams and 74 million for the entire series.^[1]

Later on August 22nd,2022 Laura Whitmore announced that she would not be returning for the ninth season of the show in January. At the time she explained that she decided to step down from the role due to complications surrounding certain parts of the format, notably mentioning the flights back and forth between London and South Africa and the potential for scheduling conflicts with her other projects.^[2] It later came to light in early September 2022, that the main reason Laura had decided to leave the show, was actually because of the fact that she felt restricted on the show as to what she could do.^[3]

Since Laura announced her departure there have been a raft of names suggested for the position of host for the upcoming season, including the likes of former islanders Maura Higgins and Ekin-Su Culculoglu, as well as names like Emily Atack and Maya Jama.^[4]

On September 30th,2022 it was reported by the Sun, that DJ and television personality; Maya Jama would be taking over the role of host from Laura Whitmore, with it being reported at the time that she had agreed to the role and that paperwork just needed to be sorted out.^[5] Later on October 12th,2022 the show's producers and ITV officially announced that Maya Jama would indeed be taking on the hosting position from this season onwards.^[6]

On December 5th,2022 it was reported that the new season would be premiering on January 16th,2023. Sources at the time mentioned that the producers were aiming to launch the show on Blue Monday and promised an 8-week run, with the grand finale being predicted to be March 18th.^[7] This news was later officially confirmed by ITV and the show's producers themselves on January 4th,2023, through the show's official social media accounts.^[8]

The first teasers for the new season were released on December 26th,2022 both on television and through the show's social media accounts. The promos gave fans a new look at the show's new host; Maya Jama in a 5-second teaser clip, as well as a clip featuring a rocking bull where the new season's tagline; "Grab love by the horns" was revealed.^[9] The first full trailer for the new season was released through the show's social media accounts on January 1st,2023.^[10]

On December 30th,2022 ITV officially announced a new amendment to their duty of care policy for the upcoming season, where they'd look to stop the islanders from having someone be in charge of their social media accounts while on the show. This was all done with a view to safeguarding both the islanders and their associates from potential harassment over social media. At the same time it was also announced that islanders would be trained on how to maintain mutual respect when in a relationship, before they headed into the villa. This was done to help ensure that they understood what negative behavioural patterns in relationships could look like.^[11]

For the first time since 2018, it was announced on January 5th, 2023 that Love Island: The Morning After would be switching up it's hosting line-up, with former islander; Indiyah Polack and Made In Chelsea star; Sam Thompson replacing Arielle & Kem respectively. At the time it was also revealed, that the new presenting duo would also be regular panellists alongside the main show's host; Maya Jama on Aftersun.^[12]

Casting[]

Applications for the new season were opened immediately after the previous season had come to an end, looking for young and attractive boys and girls between the ages of 18-34 to take part. It has also been explained that there are multiple ways in which potential applicants can be cast for the upcoming season, such as the application form that can be found on ITV's website or even through the use of social media scouting. The casting Producer for the show; Lewis Evan at the time stated that this is done in order to help ensure that they're able to cast their net as widely as possible, also mentioning the fact that they'd look to make use of events and clubs as well in the search for potential islanders.^[13]

Villa[]

Upon the announcement of the new season, it was also revealed that the show would be moving to a new villa in South Africa meaning that it wouldn't be using the villa from the previous 2020 winter season.

On November 25th,2022 the first images of what would be the new villa for the upcoming season were revealed, showing off a luxurious eco-retreat secluded in the heart of the Franschhoek wine valley and offering a large Olympic-sized swimming pool and mountain views.^[14] The first official images of the new villa were revealed on January 9th,203, unveiling the new villa as the largest one to date.^[15]

Islanders[]

The initial line-up of islanders for the season, was announced by the producers on January 9th,2023 and comprised of 5 boys and 5 girls.^[16] More islanders were set to enter the villa later as bombshells.

Winner Kai	Winner Sanam	Runner-up Lana	Runner-up Ron	Finalist Samie
Finalist Tom	Finalist Shaq	Finalist Tanya	Dumped Jessie	Dumped Will
Dumped Casey	Dumped Rosie	Dumped Claudia	Dumped Keanan	Dumped Maxwell
Dumped Olivia	Dumped Martin	Dumped Bayley	Dumped Cynthia	Dumped Frankie
Dumped Kain	Dumped Layla	Dumped Lydia	Dumped Lynda	Dumped Ryan
Dumped Sammy	Dumped Ellie	Dumped Jordan	Dumped Tanyel	Dumped Aaron
Dumped Spencer	Dumped Zara	Dumped Anna-May	Dumped Haris	Dumped David

Bombshell vote[]

On January 12th,2023 it was announced that for the first time ever, viewers would get to vote on who the first bombshell of the season would be. They were given the choice of either footballer; Tom Clare or business executive; Ellie Spence with the vote then closing 9:00PM on January 13th. The result of the vote would be announced during the launch.^[17]

On Day 1, it was revealed that Tom had received the most votes, meaning that he was able to enter the villa late into the day as the first bombshell. Despite losing the vote, Ellie would later enter the villa as a bombshell during the second week.

Islander	Name	Age	Occupation	Result
	Tom Clare	23	Footballer	Voted in
	Ellie Spence	25	Business executive	Not chosen

Week-Summary[]

Week 1	Entrances	Day 1:Anna-May,Haris,Kai,Lana,Olivia,Ron,Shaq,Tanya,Tanyel,Tom,Will Day 3:David,Zara
	Couplings	Day 1: After each of the boys had entered the villa, the girls were introduced one by one with each of the boys having to step forward for any of the girls they were interested in. However the girls had the final say on who they coupled up with. The final couplings were as such: Anna-May & Haris, Lana & Ron, Olivia & Will, Tanya & Shaq, Tanyel & Kai Day 2: After arriving late into Day 1, Tom was told that during the next day he would be able to choose a girl of his choice to couple up with which would leave one of the other boys single. On Day 2, Tom made the decision to couple up with Olivia meaning that Will was made single. Day 5:First re-coupling (Girls choice)-Tanya & Shaq (stayed together). Anna-May & Kai, Lana & Will, Olivia & Haris, Tanyel & Ron, Zara & Tom (re-coupled).
	Challenges	Day 2:Dirty Laundry-In this challenge, the boys were pitted against the girls. For the challenge, each member of a team would come up one by one and slide down into a foaming pool, before then picking up some context clues and a laminated cardboard pair of underwear. The underwear would have a statement on it correlating to a member from the opposite team. To make their guess, the holder would have to plant a kiss on the islander they thought the statement was talking about and if they got it right they would score a point for their team. The team with the most points in the end would win. Ultimately it was the girls who won the challenge with a score of 3-2.
	Dates	Day 3: David & Tanya, Zara & Ron (New islander dates)
	Exits	Day 5:David(Failed to couple up)

Week 2	Entrances	Day 7:Aaron,Jessie Day 10:Ellie,Spencer
	Couplings	Day 10: Second re-coupling (Boys/bombshell's choice)- Shaq & Tanya, Tom & Zara (Stayed together). Ellie & Ron, Spencer & Olivia, Kai & Tanyel, Will & Jessie, Aaron & Lana (Re-coupled).
	Challenges	Day 9:Space Raunch-In this challenge, the girls had to dress up in skimpy Nasa-themed outfits and take part in a space-themed obstacle course. The course was made of 4 different parts; the pole dance, ball gauntlet, spinner and the rocket back to earth. Ultimately the boys would determine which girl would win the challenge, based off of who could pull off the sexiest performance. In the the end this was Zara.
	Dates	Day 8: Aaron: Olivia & Lana, Jessie: Will & Tom (New islander dates) Day 11: All islanders (Brunch dates) Day 12: Ellie & Ron, Spencer & Olivia (Tree-house dates)
	Exits	Day 9: On Day 8, a public vote was opened for the most popular boys and girls-Kai, Haris, Tom & Anna-May,Tanya, Tanyel (Bottom 3 boys and girls respectively)-Anna-May & Haris (Voted least popular girl and boy respectively).

Week 3	Entrances	Day 14:Samie Day 17:Casey,Jordan
	Couplinga	Day 16: Third Re-coupling (Boys choice)-Shaq & Tanya, Will & Jessie, Aaron & Lana, Spencer & Olivia (Stayed together). Kai & Samie, Ron & Tanyel, Tom & Ellie (Re-coupled).
	Challenges	Day 18:Kissing Competition-For this challenge, each of the boys had to wear a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and blindfold. The girls would have to come up one by one and kiss each of the boys, with the boys then individually giving a score to each of the girls out of 10. The girl to score the highest total score at the end would be declared the winner. Ultimately with a score of 80.5, Tanya was declared the winner.
	Dates	Day 15: Jessie & Will (First date) Day 17: Casey: Lana, Olivia, Jessie. Jordan: Tanyel, Samie, Olivia (Speed-dates)
	Exits	Day 16:Zara(Failed to re-couple) Day 19:On Day 18, a public vote for the most popular boy opened up- Aaron, Kai, Spencer (Bottom 3 boys) - Aaron & Spencer (Chosen to be dumped by the girls).

Week 4	Entrances	Day 23:Claudia
	Couplings	Day 21: Fourth Re-coupling (Girls choice)-Tanya & Shaq, Tanyel & Ron, Jessie & Will (Stayed together). Lana & Casey, Samie & Tom, Ellie & Jordan, Olivia & Kai (Re-coupled). Day 24: Fifth Re-coupling (Boys choice)- Shaq & Tanya, Will & Jessie, Tom & Samie, Jordan & Ellie, Kai & Olivia (Stayed together). Casey & Claudia, Ron & Lana (Re-coupled).
	Challenges	Day 22:Ladiators-In this challenge, each of the boys had to dress up like Roman gladiators and take part in a themed obstacle course. The course was comprised of 4 parts, with the first part requiring the boy to utter a war-cry and strip off. After doing this, they would need to proceed to lift up a make-shift rock and then head over to their partner and carry them to the nearby chariot. The boy would need to maneuver the chariot round a series of plinths, before then carrying their girl up to the throne and finishing off by giving them a snog. In the end the girls would determine the winner, based on who pulled off the sexiest performance. Ultimately the winner was Shaq. Day 23:Heart Rate-For this challenge, the boys were pitted against the girls in a battle to raise each other's heart-rates. In order to accomplish this, each member from the opposite team would be hooked up to a heart-monitor and the islanders would have to dress up in skimpy costumes and perform a seductive dance. The team that manages to raise their opponents heart-rates the highest would be the winners. In the end it was the girls who won the challenge.
	Dates	Day 24: Claudia: Tom & Casey (New islander dates)
	Exits	Day 24:Tanyel (Failed to re-couple) Day 26: On Day 25, a public vote for the most compatible couple was opened up-Samie & Tom, Ellie & Jordan, Kai & Olivia (Bottom 3 couples)-Ellie & Jordan (Voted least compatible couple).

Week 5	Entrances	Day 28:Bayley,Frankie,Kain,Martin,Maxwell,Ryan (Casa Amor). Day 29:Cynthia,Layla,Lydia,Lynda,Sammy,Sanam (Main villa).
	Couplings	Day 32:Stick or twist re-coupling (OG islander's choice)-Jessie & Will, Lana & Ron, Samie & Tom, Casey & Claudia (Stayed together). Tanya & Martin, Kai & Sanam, Olivia & Maxwell (Re-coupled). Shaq (left single).
	Challenges	Day 29:Raunchy Races-In this challenge the Main villa was pitted against Casa Amor, where each of the villas were tasked with taking part in an array of saucy tasks. The villa to complete each task first would score a point, with the villa that scored the highest total points at the end being declared the winners of the challenge and of a party. In the end, it was the Main villa that managed to take the win.
	Exits	Day 32:Bayley,Cynthia,Frankie,Kain,Layla,Lydia,Lynda,Ryan & Sammy (Failed to couple-up).

Week 6	Entrances	Day 39:Keanan,Rosie
	Couplings	Day 40: Seventh re-coupling (Girls choice)-Lana & Ron, Samie & Tom, Jessie & Will, Olivia & Maxwell, Sanam & Kai (Stayed together). Keanan & Claudia, Rosie & Casey, Tanya & Shaq (Re-coupled).
	Dates	Day 36: Kai & Sanam (First date) Day 38: Maxwell & Olivia (First date) Day 39: Keanan: Jessie & Samie, Rosie: Kai & Casey (New islander dates)
	Exits	Day 40:Martin (Failed to re-couple)

Challenge History[]

Challenge	Week	Day
Dirty Laundry	1	2
Space Raunch	2	9
Kissing Competition	3	18
Ladiators	4	22
Heart Rate	4	23
Raunchy Races	5	29
Knowing me, knowing You	6	37
Movie Night	6	38
Saints vs Sinners	7	42
Snog, Marry, Pie	7	43
Villa Sports Day	7	46
Couple of Sorts	7	47

Coupling History[]

	Day 1	Day 5	Day 10	Day 16	Day 21	Day 24	Day 32	Day 40	Finale

Kai	Tanyel	Anna-May	Tanyel	Samie	Olivia		Sanam		Winners Day 58
Sanam	Not in Villa						Kai		Winners Day 58
Lana	Ron	Will	Aaron		Casey	Ron			Runners-up Day 58
Ron	Lana	Tanyel	Ellie	Tanyel		Lana			Runners-up Day 58
Samie	Not in Villa			Kai	Tom				Third Place Day 58
Tom	Single	Zara		Ellie	Samie				Third Place Day 58
Shaq	Tanya						Single	Tanya	Fourth Place Day 58
Tanya	Shaq						Martin	Shaq	Fourth Place Day 58
Jessie	Not in Villa		Will						Dumped Day 56
Will	Olivia	Lana	Jessie						Dumped Day 56
Casey	Not in Villa				Lana	Claudia		Rosie	Dumped Day 51
Rosie	Not in Villa							Casey	Dumped Day 51
Claudia	Not in villa					Casey		Keanan	Dumped Day 45
Keanan	Not in Villa							Claudia	Dumped Day 45
Maxwell	Not in Villa						Olivia		Dumped Day 45
Olivia	Will	Haris	Spencer		Kai		Maxwell		Dumped Day 45
Martin	Not in Villa						Tanya	Dumped Day 40
Bayley	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Cynthia	Not in villa						Dumped Day 32
Frankie	Not in villa						Dumped Day 32
Kain	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Layla	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Lydia	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Lynda	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Ryan	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Sammy	Not in Villa						Dumped Day 32
Ellie	Not in Villa		Ron	Tom	Jordan		Dumped Day 26
Jordan	Not in Villa				Ellie		Dumped Day 26
Tanyel	Kai	Ron	Kai	Ron		Dumped Day 24
Aaron	Not in Villa		Lana		Dumped Day 19
Spencer	Not in Villa		Olivia		Dumped Day 19
Zara	Not in Villa	Tom		Dumped Day 16
Anna-May	Haris	Kai	Dumped Day 9
Haris	Anna-May	Olivia	Dumped Day 9
David	Not in Villa	Dumped Day 5

Ratings[]

The ratings have been taken from BARB and includes ITV2+1. The ratings that had been collated from catch-up have also been added. Due to the fact that Saturday episodes are only weekly catch-up episodes rather than the usual highlights and as such aren't included in the season's overall average.

Ratings that feature a "-" represent episodes that rated below 2.79 million in ratings and as such didn't receive an official rating.

	Viewers (millions)
	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9
Sunday	N/A	-	-	-	-	2.87	-	-	-
Monday	3.38	-	-	3.01	-	-	-	-	-
Tuesday	3.11	-	-	2.95	-	-	-	-
Wednesday	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Thursday	-	-	2.90	-	-	-	-	-
Friday	-	-	-	-	2.89	-	-	-
Series average	TBC

Media[]

Pre-Season promo[]

Meet The Islanders - Love Island Series 9

References

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