In news that will shock no one, smash hit dating series Love Island will return to ITV2 in 2023 – however, there’s a twist.
Next year will be the first in Love Island history to feature two brand new seasons, with both a winter edition running early in the new year and the usual summer season a few months later.
The winter season will be only the second the show has ever seen, with the islanders heading to a villa in South Africa as they did for the 2020 winter season. Meanwhile, the summer season will once again be held in Majorca across an eight-week run.
The idea of hosting two seasons in one year was originally meant to happen in 2020, but the summer season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paul Mortimer, Director of Reality Commissioning and Controller at ITV2, said: “Love Island has once again proved itself to be the nation’s favourite talking point across the summer, and we’re always blown away by the show’s ongoing impact and talkability amongst our younger audience.
“So, rather than just serving up a Summer of Love, we thought we’d make 2023 the Year of Love with two full series of the show.”
Meanwhile Mike Spencer, Executive Producer at Lifted Entertainment which produces the show, said: “After eight brilliant series, we are excited to be serving up two helpings of love in 2023 by kicking off in January at a stunning new villa in South Africa.
“We can look forward to more romances, bromances and everything in between as we embark on another epic year of love.”
It has not yet been confirmed whether host Laura Whitmore and narrator Iain Stirling will be back for the new seasons.
This year’s season has once again been a ratings hit for ITV2, with the launch episode being streamed 7.5 million times and becoming the biggest programme of the year for the 16-34-year-old demographic.
