One of the new stars of Love Island has confessed to avoiding the latest series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! due to her ex-boyfriend Owen Warner being in the jungle. Lana Jenkins has been revealed as one of 10 initial islanders signed up to the upcoming winter edition of the ITV dating show.
The 25-year-old celebrity make-up artist from Luton will join the nine other singletons in the brand new villa in South Africa when the series returns on Monday (January 16).
When revealed as one of the islanders, Lana was asked what her claim to fame is, to which she replied: "In my work as a makeup artist I’ve worked with lots of celebrities. Also, when I was six-years-old I used to live in Spain and I was in an episode of Benidorm as an extra."
But she also had a famous partner. Speaking of her romance with Hollyoaks actor Owen, who came second on I’m A Celeb in November, Lana said: "We had a lovely relationship. We had a bit of a lockdown relationship, so we spent a lot of time together.
"And then when we ended, we ended amicably, so I have nothing bad to say in terms of our relationship and the time that we spent together. I watched the [I’m A Celebrity] final and that was it because, obviously he got to the final, so that was amazing, and I thought I’d watch it out of support."
She added: "But I just thought it’s a bit weird to watch your ex for an hour on telly every evening, so I didn’t bother. But I did send him a message when he got out and was like, 'Well done. That’s amazing that you came runner up'. So it was nice.”
Lana also revealed that her work as a make-up artist to the stars means she has crossed paths with a number of famous faces including Michelle Keegan. The Brassic actress actually shared a message in support of Lana following her Love Island reveal.
Sharing a post from the show's official account to her Instagram Story, Michelle, who stars as Erin Croft in the Sky Comedy, wrote: "So our girl @lanajenkinss is going into @loveisland," she wrote. "Genuinely one of the nicest girls you'll ever meet."
Adding words of encouragement Michelle, 35, from Stockport, told Lana: "Go and smash it darlin." And Lana returned the favour, saying the former Coronation Street star "is an absolute dream to work with."
"She is gorgeous. She’s like a real-life Disney princess. She’s such a amazing person inside and out," Lana added.
The new islanders are set to enter the Love Island villa in South Africa on January 16 as new host Maya Jama takes over from Laura Whitmore, who announced she was stepping down in August following the 2022 summer series.
The new series is the show’s first winter series since before the coronavirus pandemic. New additions also include Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson and Indiyah Polack, who was a finalist on the show last year, who are joining as regular panellists on Love Island’s Aftersun programme.
Love Island returns to ITV and ITVX on Monday, January 16, at 9pm.
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