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Love Island fans were shocked at the first appearance of the new series The only way is Essex Veteran star Joey Essex.
Joey, 33, made his reality TV debut in 2011 on the show which followed the drama-filled lives of young people living in Brentwood and was known for his catchphrase “Reem”.
Joey walks into a villa in Majorca and declares that he's looking for a queen to help him rule Essex. Love Island According to his Twitter/X account, he is looking for a wife.
While the islanders are excited to meet the celebrity, Joey's casting has received mixed reactions from viewers as the show breaks with the traditional format of having regular people and lesser known influencers as contestants and Joey is the first celebrity to compete on the show.
Some viewers described the reality TV star as “unrecognisable” after not seeing him on screen for years, and when he appeared on the show he appeared with a shaved head, a departure from the trademark quiff that viewers recognised him as having at the height of his fame. Tweet.
Viewers commented that they “had to double check that it was really him” when host Maya Jama introduced Joey to the Islanders, while others thought Joey was Ron Hall, a finalist on season 9 of the reality show.
“Joey Essex with a shaved head Love Island “It wasn't on my bingo card for 2024,” one fan said.
Some criticized the decision to feature established celebrities on the show.
“[Love Island] “Just further confirmation that the only people they have to use their platform to help are the people themselves,” one viewer said, while another added: “Maybe it's time to end the show completely. Having Joey Essex on it pretty much defeats the purpose of the show.”
Another fan called the decision to cast Joey a “huge mistake” because they thought the other contestants would be thrilled with him “fawning over the fact he's a celebrity.”
In the first episode of the series, Jama introduced a few twists that set it apart from past seasons: instead of waiting in line and deciding who they'd like right away, the Islanders are given the opportunity to socialize and get to know each other a bit before playing a game in which the girls rank the boys in order of who would be best suited to be boyfriends, and vice versa.
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Jama then revealed that the Islanders were put together based on their standings.
in IndependentIn her opening night review of series 11, critic Rachel McGrath noted that the change in producers Love Island It will still feel fresh and relevant in 2024.
“At the height of its popularity in 2019, the sunshine series averaged more than five million viewers, with 3.6 million tuning in to see Amber Gill win just weeks after the bitterest Casa Amor exit in the show's history (Michael “Chaldish” Griffiths has still not been forgiven).”
“What made the series so compelling was that it felt real,” McGrath says, but she also thinks it's “irrelevant” whether Joey is actually looking for love.
“Is the king of permanently tanned skin really looking for love? In the end, maybe it doesn't matter – as long as the drama keeps up,” McGrath concluded.
