Reality TV star Joey Essex has entered the Love Island villa in a surprise twist.
The ITV dating series returned on Monday, introducing more contestants to the villa.
Host Maya Jama told the contestants: "Well it's good to see you're all settled in. As you know you are in Love Island, you must always expect the unexpected.
"So please welcome Joey."
The TV star said he was "the king of Essex" who wanted to find his "queen".
ITV has said Essex represents the show's "first celebrity contestant".
The 33-year-old TV personality rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) before appearing on similar shows including I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Celebrity MasterChef, Celebs Go Dating and Dancing on Ice.
Earlier, Jama told the residents: "First impressions count. Boys and girls, I now want you to rate each other in order of who you think has come across the most like boyfriend and girlfriend material, right down to who has given the least relationship vibes."
Jama then revealed the rankings would mean who they were paired with.
What better way to start a fiery summer of love than with a spicy twist? ❤️🔥
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) June 3, 2024
The Islanders' rankings of each other mean your first Couples of #LoveIsland Series 11 are… pic.twitter.com/Njt2TkuZiD
The couples included: Mimii Ngulube, 24, a mental health nurse from Portsmouth, and Munveer Jabbal, 30, a recruitment manager from Surbiton; and Nicole Samuel, 24, an accounts manager from Aberdare, and Sean Stone, 24, a salesman from Hertford.
Other partners were: Samantha Kenny, 26, a make-up artist from Liverpool, and Sam Taylor, 23, a hair stylist from Chesterfield; Harriett Blackmore, 24, a dancer and personal shopper from Brighton, and Ciaran Davies, 21, a surveyor from Pencoed, South Wales; and Jess White, 25, a retail manager from Stockport, and semi-professional footballer Ronnie Vint, 27, from London.
Ayo Odukoya, 25, a model from Canning Town, and Patsy Field, 29, an office administrator from Orpington, were also joined together.
Field, who was born with Erb's palsy - a paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the upper group of the arm's main nerves resulting from a difficult birth - revealed that she shares her bed with her mother.
She explained that her mother did not have a place in her home for her to stay except for in the same room.
Love Island continues on Virgin Media Two and ITV2.
Source: Press Association
