This is what the makers are not telling you about Love Island

You and I both know how television works: behind the scenes, all sorts of juicy things happen that the general public doesn't get to see. Juicy stuff that we want to know. Juicy stuff that I had to investigate in Gran Canaria. Yep, Amayzine headed to Gran Canaria to interview the creators of Love Island to extract some secrets for us fans. Here it comes.

The show is made by about a hundred people

And yes, those hundred people all fly to Gran Canaria. They operate from a production villa that is practically NEXT to the Love Island villa. It looks like a sort of mini-village, with tents, chalkboards with notes, and computers, cables, and editing rooms everywhere.

Oh, and super funny: the creators do a role-play before the show starts

They predict who will make contact with whom (hilarious side note: they even create a pool!) and reenact whole situations in the days leading up to the show. Which brings me to the next point.

HAHAAA, eventually the creators edit the very first episode with themselves as Islanders

In which they all get a number and imitate a certain contestant. They have entire dialogues. Even quoting in confession rooms. I've heard from reliable sources that this episode unfortunately will never see the light of day and is purely a dress rehearsal, but honestly: it's hilarious. And believe me, I've seen it happen and they are having the greatest time. And rightly so.

The Islanders go into a, uh, sort of quarantine when they arrive in Gran Canaria

Alone. In a hotel. For a week. Handing in their phones, no contact with the outside world anymore. All this to really get into the ‘island bubble’ and prepare optimally. What do they do in that week? Lounging, reading, and working out. They can take a breath of fresh air around the hotel, but only with supervision. No kidding.

Aleksandra and Denzel have meanwhile received their prize money from last season

Well, and about that 25,000 euros, taxes must be paid in the Netherlands, of course. But it just so happens that Denzel has registered with Aleks in Belgium, where taxes on prize money do not exist. Ha. Smart people.

The Islanders have one day off a week

And yes, then they are allowed to go out. OUTSIDE THE VILLA YES. I mean: a person has to go to the hairdresser or get a manicure. Note: the men and women go separately AND there is always a supervisor with them.

The reason why there is no filming during lunch and dinner is quite simple...

It's just not that charming to film people eating. Nothing more, nothing less. And in the meantime, the villa is often cleaned, the batteries of microphones are replaced, that kind of technical nonsense. Now we know that too.

So, shall we just fire up Videoland again? Hatsa, you're one button away from this week's episodes. I’m in.