Love Island: Secrets from a former contestant

Clocks showing the wrong time, group meals that never get shown and warnings for talking about certain topics.

What's it really like being a contestant on Love Island?

An ex-islander has told Radio 1 Newsbeat about the things that go on but aren't seen.

Chris Williamson spent 18 days as a contestant on the 2015 series of the ITV show.

While these experiences are based on that season, it's thought a lot of the processes will have remained the same or similar.

Islanders never know what time it is

Chris says he had to try to work out the time by looking at where the sun was because the time was set wrong on phones, clocks, and everything else.

"If you were to be driven to a date location, the driver of the car would have his watch on a different time and the clock in the car would be a different time to that."

But the 31-year-old isn't sure why.

"The only thing I can think is that it allows the show to dictate people's sleep and wake cycles more easily.

"Also, if something happens at 6pm each day - but you don't know when that is - it means the show can schedule stuff in more easily."

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Chris (second from right) with some of the 2015 cast

The real reason mealtimes are barely shown

Chris, who splits his time as a podcaster, nightclub promoter and model, says people have asked him why you never really see islanders eat.

"Have you ever heard anyone eat up close with a microphone around their neck? It sounds like someone walking through mud - it's absolutely disgusting," Chris says.

"And everyone's got sauce all over their face and stuff like that. Who wants to see that?"

He assures fans of the show that the cast doesn't starve, although they never actually see the people who deliver their meals.

"There's a canteen on site and a two-way larder where they drop these big pots of food - which might be lasagne or salad or pizza - just normal stuff.

"And then once the people who've deposited the food leave, our side of the door gets opened and we go and get it."

'Do they just want hairy cavemen?'

The contestants receive beauty treatments - but it's not considered a luxury.

Chris - who lives in Newcastle - tells Newsbeat: "You need your hair cut!"

"I know girls that go and get their nails done every week, so for a lot of them it was the same for us as going to the gym.

"If you're a girl and you like to get your hair done, but you haven't had your hair done for six weeks, you're not going to feel very confident when a new guy walks in, which makes bad content."

On Chris's season, he says stylists and barbers came in - but doesn't think it should be an issue.

"If the audience has a problem with that, what do they expect to happen - do they want us all to turn into hairy cavemen by week eight?

"Everyone's there to tune in and find these guys and girls that look beautifully presented in this villa in the sunshine with tans, like... it's the way it works."

Josh and Naomi trying to eat silently

The pre-show lockdown is intense

Chris, who was voted off the island on day 18 of his season, says the week before the show starts all contestants are on "media lockdown".

"That means they won't have their phone, they'll be with a chaperone who's a runner or researcher from ITV - and they won't be let out of that person's sight."

One reason for this is so the cast don't see any audience reaction from back in the UK when their names come out.

"You've got no phone, no internet, you're not allowed to look at newsagents - and that'd be worse now with the extra press coverage."

Another reason they're isolated is so they have no idea who the other contestants will be until they enter the house.

"Because everyone was in quite a close geographic net, it means we had to have different slots at the gym... and then there'd be a half-hour buffer before the next person came in."

On Chris's season, he says all islanders were put up in flats in different parts of Majorca - it's thought there's a similar process this year.

"We wouldn't ever go walking up towards someone else's flat, in case they were going out for coffee."

You can't talk about certain things or you get told off

As soon as you get into the villa, Chris says you really want to talk about the lockdown period you've just been through.

"That's the one thing all of the cast have in common - but that can't be aired because it's not a part of the show and the audience would get bored."

Other topics are off-limits too.

"You're not allowed to really talk about the outside world that much, obviously you can't talk about brands and things.

"There's a tannoy system where they come over like a mother telling off naughty children, reminding you that you're not supposed to be talking about this or that."

It's actually really boring

"It sounds so bizarre to say that being in the sunshine in this £10m villa surrounded by good looking guys and girls just getting a tan could get boring, but it really does."

With no books to read, no internet and no friends from back home around, there's not much else to think about except for what's happening in the villa.

"You have no distractions - it's you and the situations that are going on 24 hours a day. It's a very intense experience."

There's honestly no scripting

You may remember the scene from Love Island 2018 where "loyal" Georgia Steel denied instigating a kiss with Jack Fowler.

The show was accused of faking it, as shots from different camera angles made it look like there were two separate kisses.

"People were like: 'See! This is proof that it's totally made up!' It's actually called a match on action and it exists across all media production.

"The situation hasn't been molested, it's just the fact that they want to make it look nice.

"Fans of the show shouldn't be too sceptical... it's pretty close to the truth."

Newsbeat asked ITV about Chris's account of being on Love Island. A spokesperson didn't want to comment on the individual claims, but said they wanted to stress that the beauty treatments are "very occasional", and are usually done for an event like the final, or the prom they do at the end of the series.

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