McDonald’s parties and manicures: What the Islanders get up to on their weekly day off filming

Being an Islander on Love Island is just like a job really – they are busy at work being filmed for the majority of the time, but at the weekend they are treated to a day off. The show doesn’t air on a Saturday for us viewers at home, and that is so the Islanders can get a rest from filming and have some downtime.

Their days off sound pretty fun. In various interviews, previous Islanders have spoken about what they all get up to when the cameras are switched off. From having a fat order of McDonald’s into the villa, to heading out to the beach for a change of scenery, they make sure they make the most of it.

The Islanders are treated to takeaways when they have a day off from filming

via ITV

Previous Islanders have said on their days off from the show, they would be allowed to order takeaways into the villa. They’ve said they had “McDonald’s parties” where they ordered loads of food and all sat outside in the garden eating it.

In previous seasons, the Islanders would go to the beach during their down time

2017 winner Kem Cetinay revealed during his season they headed out the villa on their day off from filming. Speaking on This Morning, he said producers would take them to the beach for a couple of hours.

Most Read

People have spotted a huge I’m A Celeb editing error proving a bushtucker trial was staged

Finally, Adam has actually addressed the rumours he and Amy are dating after MAFS UK

All the mega-famous actors who also auditioned for each Wicked role

“They get one day off a week,” he said. “What happens is it gives them a day to clean the villa and you take your mics off and normally we go to the beach and we just chill out. Not a lot of people know this. What happens is when you take your mics off, you’re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the show.

“You’ve got to talk about home life. You’re being watched by an evil hawk, by the producers because they don’t want you to talk about what’s going on.”

Georgia Steel said she didn’t go out the villa on her days off

via ITV

2018 Islander and All Stars cast member Georgia Steel said her seasons weren’t lucky enough to be taken out the villa on their days off, but said there are strict rules when the cameras aren’t rolling.

“We don’t go out the villa. More or less the boys and the girls are split up and I totally understand that from a production point of view,” she told Closer. “They don’t want relationships to maybe grow or for them to have conversations that they believe would be a huge benefit for the public to see, so they want to split you up.

“And you do have chaperones and they’re making sure that you’re not chatting about stuff that’s regarding the villa or what’s going on because obviously it’s not on camera.”

The girls might get their hair and nails done

Former Love Island host Laura Whitmore has confirmed in an interview that on a Saturday, the girls sometimes make the most of their day off with some pampering. They opt to get “their eyelashes and acrylic nails redone,” she said.

She added: “Apparently in the first series, they left the villa to go to a salon to have their hair done but now, because the show is so big, they can’t, so they have a girl who comes in to do their roots and stuff.”

Season five Islander, Lucie Donlan, added in an interview with Capital: “Every two or three weeks we’d have nails, hair, that kind of thing done. And we’d get a Maccies as well. Being in there that long, the nights are very long and no one sees how long they are, so you need a bit of a down day and a bit of a chill.”

via ITV

The Islanders sleep in same-sex beds when the show isn’t filming

The producers really do make sure no couples develop their relationship any further when they’re not being filmed, as beyond not being able to chat, they also don’t spent the night together.

“On the down days, it’s boys and girls separate,” Hugo and Jess from Love Island 2024 told CloserOnline. Hugo added: “You have to share a bed with another boy.”

The villa gets cleaned

The Islanders don’t have to do any of their own cleaning, although watching them run around with feather dusters would be fun. The villa is cleaned once a week, where a cleaner will come in and do things like washing the sheets, general cleaning and the Islanders’ laundry is done for them.

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook.  

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• From wake-up to lights out: This is the exact daily routine for Islanders on Love Island

• Dumped Islanders say Love Island is forced to stage chats when it rains in the villa

• Revealed: Exactly who in the Love Island 2024 cast was scouted and who applied