Love Island contestants from Newcastle down the years: Where are they now?

The newest season of the hit ITV show starts today, but where how have local contestants fared on the show in the past?
Love Island contestants from Newcastle down the years: Where are they now?Love Island contestants from Newcastle down the years: Where are they now?
Love Island contestants from Newcastle down the years: Where are they now?

The eighth season of ITV’s most popular summer show starts tonight, and we’ve taken a trip down memory lane to see how well Geordies have done in the Love Island villa.

Chris Williamson

Season One of the acclaimed show was aired over the summer of July 2015 and included one North East representative – Chris Williamson. The club promoter was 27 when he made the Mediterranean trip as a member of the opening cast. He lasted 18 days in the villa before getting dumped.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

These days Williamson describes himself as a podcaster and YouTuber but he hasn’t left his club promoting days behind him. His podcast, named Modern Wisdom, has recorded over 25 million downloads and is released three times per week.

Sophie Gradon

Season two saw Sophie Gradon head into the villa. The former Miss Great Britain winner, who also had a career as a marketing manager lasted over a month in the villa, eventually finishing eighth in season two. Gradon made history during her time on the show, coupling up with glamour model Katie Salmon to form the show’s first same-sex pairing.

After leaving Love Island Gradon would often give interviews about the impact of being on the show and the internet trolling which would follow from it.

On June 20, 2018 she was tragically found dead after taking her own life. Her death is one of three, alongside Caroline Flack and Michael Thalassitis, which have put the show under fire for the way it supports those on our screens.

Alex Beattie

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Season three of the ITV show saw Alex Beattie enter the villa as a 22 year-old personal trainer. Entering the show in the fifth week of the show, he reached the 2017 final as half of a couple with Montana Brown before finishing as the nation’s fifth favourite couple.

Alex still works as a personal trainer and nutrition coach, but that season will be better known across the North East for…

Sam Gowland

Coming from Middlesbrough, Gowland entered the show in the northern ‘lad’ archetype as one of the original cast and lasted 39 days before being dumped from the island. He then returned to the show and was dumped once again on day 46.

His post Love-Island career is arguably what he is best known for, though. After leaving the show Gowland joined the cast of Geordie Shore and starred in the show from season 16 until season 21 – a run spanning two years across 2018 and 2019. During his time on the show built a relationship with co-star Chloe Ferry.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Now describing himself as an international property developer and multiple business owner, Gowland has also made an appearance in an MMA ring, winning his first and only fight in Newcastle against fellow Brit Andrew Saville.

Ellie Brown

Brown was one of two Geordie contestants on the 2018 edition of the show. Entering on day 15 of the show’s fourth season, she was dumped on day 43 and is now a fashion influencer with over 1.3 million Instagram followers.

Adam Collard

Joining Brown on the 2018 edition of the show was Adam Collard, who joined the show on day one and lasted 32 days before getting dumped. Collard still works as a personal trainer, the job he entered the villa with.

Harley Brash

Season five also saw two Geordies enter the villa, but one was left with the short straw. Estate Agent Harley made her first appearance on the show on day 43 and lasted only nine days before being dumped as part of the show’s finale. She was, however, beaten to the title by a fellow Tynesider.

Amber Gill

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The North East’s only winner of Love Island, Amber Gill entered the show on day one as a beauty therapist and remained on the show until the final, which she won alongside Greg O’Shea.

No longer with O’shea, Gill now makes appearances on TV shows such as Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and Loose Women.

Rebecca Gormley

Season six saw model Rebecca Gormley enter the Love Island villa. The 21 year-old lasted 21 days in the villa after entering on day nine. She continues to model clothes through her social media accounts.

Lillie Haynes

Originally from South Shields, Haynes entered Love Island as a 22 year-old trainee accountant. Her first appearance on the show came on Casa Amour but didn’t make it to the villa after not being picked in a day 32 recoupling ceremony. She now lives in Abu Dhabi.

Is anyone from Newcastle in season eight of Love Island?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

At the time of writing, there are no North East representatives on the newest edition of the show, which starts on June 6 2022 although the daughter of former Newcastle United striker Michael Owen is set to enter the show on day one. This may change as contestants come and go from the series.

What is new about this season’s Love Island?

The new series of the ITV show will be sprinkled with changes to what fans of the show are used to. In addition to a brand new villa in Mallorca – the third Spanish villa since season one – this year’s edition sees contestants wearing secondhand clothes for the first time following criticism in recent years about the deals with fast fashion brands which contestants wear throughout filming.

Love Island starts on June 6 at 9:00pm on ITV2.

Related topics: