Love Island is returning for its winter series for the first time since the pandemic.

The ITV dating show, which is also being hosted by radio DJ Maya Jama for the first time, will see 10 islanders entering the villa in South Africa tonight.

The line-up currently has no Oxfordshire stars although that could change when contestants are 'dumped' and new 'bombshells' join. 

But what have our past local Love Island TV favourites been up to since leaving the show?

 

Sharon Gaffka 

Sharon was an Islander on season 7 in 2021 and lasted 18 days in the villa during which she forged a strong friendship with Hugo.

The then 25-year-old civil servant from Didcot said: “We all took a plunge when we came here.

“Love was never guaranteed and it never will be, but I’m glad that I took that plunge."

Sharon, who was Miss International UK 2018, worked as a contracted operations lead for the Department for Transport before leaving to join the ITV reality show.

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Since leaving the villa she has become an anti-spiking campaigner after sharing her horror story of being spiked during a daytime lunch with her friends.

The reality TV star ended up in hospital after she fell unconscious in the restaurant bathrooms after her drink was spiked in London.

Sharon, who has 350,000 followers on Instagram, is also working with Thames Valley Police to raise awareness among a younger audience about how officers deal with violent or sexual offences – and how to report wrongdoers.

She joined officers in Oxford to learn more about the Project Vigilant scheme, which sees plain clothes and uniformed officers patrolling night time hot spots to identify ‘predatory behaviour’ in order to prevent sexual assaults before they happen.

 

Chloe Burrows

Bicester girl Chloe Burrows competed alongside Sharon and caused a stir from the start.

She proved divisive among fans of the show after she called herself the 'queen' of the villa.

The reality TV star's loved ones posted about the influx of abusive messages from trolls that she received following her arrival in the villa and choosing to pair up with co-star Aaron, causing the shock departure of Shannon Singh after only two days.

This year ITV announced contestants will have to disable their social media accounts to protect both them and their families.

However, the 26-year-old financial services marketing executive triumphed coming in second place in the Love Island 2021 final.

Oxford Mail:

She was runner-up with partner Toby Aromolaran, 22,  a semi-professional footballer.

The pair were beaten by her friend Millie Court and Liam Reardon, who were crowned the winners.

However, Chloe and Toby reportedly ended their relationship after a year of dating. 

She currently works as a social media influencer and Instagram personality.

 

Emma Jane Woodham

Emma Jane Woodham was an Islander on Season 2 of the revived series of Love Island. Emma entered the villa on Day 27 and was dumped from the island on Day 41.

Now 27, the trainee Project Manager from Oxford, was 19 when she went on the show and provided viewers with one of its most shocking moments when she and Terry Walsh were caught in the act by the villa cameras.

The show aired full-frontal sex scenes on top of the bed which led to Ofcom complaints and the couple later claimed they believed ITV would not be able to air their steamy scene.

 

Emma and Terry continued to date in the outside world but split up eight months after returning to the UK.

Since then, Emma has been working as an Instagram influencer and model and is also mum to four-year-old Alfie.

Love Island returns at 9pm on Monday January 16 on ITV2 and ITVX.

 

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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris

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