Love Island star’s TV past before villa fame exposed

Love Island 2026 contestant Ope Sowande has impressed fans with his previous TV appearances.

Love Island viewers have already clocked where they’ve spotted one contestant before.

Maya Jama’s summer of romance is just days away, with a fresh group of singletons preparing to enter the famous villa in search of love.

Amongst them is West End performer Ope, who’s certainly familiar with being in front of the cameras.

The 27-year-old from Lincolnshire has posted numerous photos from his career and personal life across social media, including appearances on Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, performing on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, featuring in a Walkers crisps commercial, and even gracing Strictly.

Ope was amongst the professional dancers during the 2024 series of Strictly, performing alongside Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, reports OK!.

“Dope time dancing on BBC Strictly,” Ope posted on social media.

He received an outpouring of praise from his fans, with one commenting: “Yeahhhhh boyyyyyy,” while another gushed: “Loved this,” and a third enthused: “Amazing!”

Following his appearance on Saturday Night Takeaway months prior, Ope posted on Instagram: “Ant and Dec Saturday night takeaway finale. Such a blessing to be a part of such an iconic series.”

He added: “Swipe to see my dancing with a pussycast doll… @iamashleyroberts I luv u.”

As the cast for the new series of Love Island were announced, one fan account wrote on X: “Obsessed with the fact he was a backing dancer for Sarah Hadland’s Charleston on Strictly.”

Ahead of the new series airing, Ope shared his plans of finding love in the villa, saying: “I’m not here for the drama and I want to find love, however the drama could be funny. I love the ‘watching with a telescope, ooh what’s going on, sip the tea’ kind of vibe. I’m not here for the drama…but I’m here for the drama.”

He added: “I’m never playing anything safe, that’s boring. My thing is to go for the goal and make someone laugh straight away. I think that’s the key to love and the key to getting girls.

“My ultimate thing in life is to make people feel comfortable around me, so as soon as that happens, I’m sweet. And I’ve got the best smile in Britain.”

When asked how he plans to handle the competition, he went on: “No one phases me. I’m so confident in my ability to just do my thing. I don’t get phased, I don’t get impersonated, I don’t get threatened. It’s not even about them, it’s about me.

“I’m very confident in myself as a person. I love my beauty, I love my looks, I love my humour. If someone fancies someone else more than me, then that’s on them. I won’t take it personally.”

Love Island starts on Monday, June 1, at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.