Love Island launch to reveal shock new twist as producers make change to the show

Love Island returns tonight for its 10th series and viewers can expect a whole new twist in the opening episode.

For the first time in the show’s history, female and male islanders will enter the TV villa at the same time and get to know each other right away, starting those romantic relationships right from the start.

In previous years, the girls were always the first to enter the villa, where they excitedly met and opened a bottle of bubbly before being joined by the boys, who usually enter one by one.

But in this year’s first twist, which marks the start of unexpected events on the show as bosses promise to keep the islanders and viewers on their toes this summer, contestants have a chance to start grafting from the moment they set foot in put the villa.

A TV source told MailOnline: ‘The girls have always entered the villa before the boys, but for the first time two females come in followed by the first male islander and sparks start to fly.

“The viewers have already chosen who pairs with whom, so the fact that the islanders are getting to know each other before being placed in their pairings only means the drama will follow faster than usual.”

Ruchee Gurung and Jess Harding are the first to enter the villa and are surprised to be joined by Mitchell Taylor, followed by Ella Thomas and then André Furtado.

Maya Jama, during her first seductive walk into the villa, announces in slow motion that the islanders should gather around the fire pit while introducing the remaining five contestants to the rest of the group.

Tonight’s launch episode will be the first time the summer 2023 cast has met after being kept in isolation for weeks ahead of their TV debut.

But two islanders soon discover they have some history after model Ella Thomas reveals she knows semi-pro soccer player Tyrique Hyde, who struggles clumsily to remember their past connection.

Eventually Tyrique realizes that they met before at a nightclub in London’s Mayfair, but Ella was wearing a blonde wig at the time, which was why he had a hard time remembering her.

They are just two contestants from the line-up that the public have been given the chance to curate after Maya announced last week that ITV2 viewers had the power to match this series.

After meeting for the first time and being placed in their couples, Islanders will have to share a bed together as they adjust to life on Love Island, which begins today and may last eight weeks.

Maya, who wore a crocheted Cult Gaia dress at her entrance, announced to the cast, “I think it’s fair to say on Love Island that you should 100 percent expect the unexpected.”

The presenter told MailOnline ahead of the launch that her outfits are prepared ahead of each episode and that her looks for the summer series will be her sexiest yet.

She said: ‘I have the best glamor in the world and they transform me every day.

“We have meetings now because of the pressure to live up to last season’s looks. My first outfit is a cutout, there are a lot of cutouts, that’s all I can tell you. I feel like that was a bit of a theme last time, I made a lot of cut out pieces.’

True to her word, Maya’s glamorous first look emphasizes her shapely figure and shows off a hint of skin in all the right places.

• Love Island airs tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX