Amber Gill, who won dating show Love Island in 2019 before coming out as queer, has shared her thoughts on a possible LGBTQ+ version of the programme.
It’s fair to say that the ITV show, in which attractive straight people are locked in a villa for a summer, with the hopes of finding a good brand deal their one true love, does not have the smoothest relationship with queer people.
Despite a number of former contestants coming out as queer since, such as season four’s Megan Barton-Hanson and season six’s Eve Gale, there has not yet been an LGBTQ+-inclusive season of the show.
But, speaking to PinkNews about her upcoming lesbian-romance novel, One Summer in Miami, Amber Gill, who came out after winning season five of Love Island with partner Greg O’Shea, reacted to the idea.
“I think a queer Love Island would be kind of hard to pull off,” she says, before paying dues to Dannii Minogue’s I Kissed A Boy and I Kissed A Girl – the UK’s first dedicated queer dating shows.
“[Those shows] are a good start, but I want more Love Island-esque stuff. You know, like the silliness of Love Island, how long it goes on, it’s on every night, and it’s live.
“I want to vote for people. I want a public vote, I want people to win prize money at the end, be crowned winners. I did love [I Kissed A Boy/Girl], but Love Island just works really well and I’d love to see [a queer version].”
Gill also jokes that if straight people were to watch a queer Love Island, they would be: “Eyes-wide-open, jaw-agape, shocked! For two months as well – all the [lesbians] would come out married.”
One Summer in Miami will be published on 15 August and is available to pre-order now.
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