This is insane!

Since we first announced that applications were open for Love Island 2018, we were not expecting to report back with such a colossal figure of sign-ups. Yes, three months ago, Love Island put out a casting call, looking for new singles to join them on the beach, potentially find love and perhaps even, "the one". ITV's hit reality show became one of the most watched shows of all time last year, with an incredible cult following both here and in the UK, with over 1.2 million people tuning in each night. Wow. So you can only imagine the number of sign-ups the show has received this year, yep, a staggering 150,000. That is 150,000 singles over the age of 18 willing and ready to take part. So what must you posses to be a chosen one to appear on the show? Well according to one of the show's producers Lewis, it really is a mixed bag of various elements. He spoke to Cosmopolitan saying:

“It’s all about having a great mix of desirable, aspirational singletons who have interesting and engaging personalities to keep our viewers glued and entertained by what’s going on in the villa."

"Not only do the contestants have to be single (we imagine there would be a number of heartbroken and angry boyfriends and girlfriends up and down the country if this wasn’t the case) they also have to be readily looking for love and be someone who 'stands out from the crowd'."

Lewis also admits that the producers pay particular attention to the potential islanders social media accounts, in particular Instagram, to see their level of following and interaction, which can often play a big part. Lastly Lewis adds that one must remember the prize is pretty phenomenal (£50,000), so it is very important the producers know what each person who applies would do if they were given such funds. Love Island has been the platform for launching some incredible careers for many of the past contestants including Montana Brown who has a clothing collection with PLT and is also a newsreader on MTV. We cannot wait for the show to return.