These are the secret tricks to get scouted for the next series of Love Island

So you want to get paid to have an eight-week holiday in a luxury villa, surrounded by impossibly sexy strangers? You're in good company – 85,000+ people apply to be on Love Island every year.

So how are you going to compete with that many people? Play the system – forget the application and go out and get scouted by the producers directly. Turns out almost exactly half of eventual Love Island contestants don't get in through the open application process – the producers reach out to them directly. But why? Here's how to turn the heads of the Love Island producers and get the direct call-up to the show.

Have a big Instagram following

The first thing that producers look for when they're scouring for people to drag onto the show is doing big #numbers on insta (not the pathetic four thousand odd that poor Grace came in with.)

Just look at new girl Laura who had 108K followers before even joining the show. A big follower count shows that you're both fit and (hopefully) interesting enough to thrive in the villa, whilst also making you the kind of person people are going to tweet and gossip about back at home.

So go out there and start working on your followers – commenting "nice" on literally every single photo in the hot feed and smattering your posts with #sun, #bikini, #attractivepeopleofinstagram etc

As for the actual content, any old photo isn't gonna cut it – you're gonna need to show off both your bod and general ability to look good near a body of water by preferably having loads and loads of professional looking snaps of you at a beach.

Be a model

Again, kind of an obvious one. Of the 16 islanders currently in the villa, eight make a significant proportion of their income through jobs that revolve less around their minds and more around their bodies – models, actors, the occasional stripper. Almost every islander that seems to have been hand-picked for the show has done modelling work in London – which might give you some hints as to where to start.

Hang around in nightclubs looking fit

Montana from last year's show was asked to apply after a producer met her in a nightclub. This may well be an eventually successful route to the villa, but we do need to advise you to exercise caution. Most people claiming to be Love Island producers are probably pervy creeps who are trying to get you to either buy some shots or invest in a pyramid scheme.

Don't be boring

Montana also has these bits of advice on how to stand out from the influencer-crowd: “Don't just blend into the background. Remember some really funny stories when you went out with your girlfriends, tell them that story. Don’t just say ‘Oh I’m really fun’. Yeah, but why are you fun? Like what makes you fun, what makes you different?”

Despite this sounding like an inspirational PowerPoint you were given on sixth-form careers day, it might actually pass as good advice: you need to develop your own personal brand. Sure, it would be best if your "thing" is "being Danny Dyer's daughter" – but we can't all win. Maybe take up the drums or something idk.

It's not what you know…

Georgia apparently got on the show because she knew Amber Davies and asked the 2017 winner to put in a good word for her with the producers. It is notable how many of the current islanders do seem to be friends with previous contestants or, more bizarrely, already know people currently in the villa. Adam knew Ellie; Jack dated other Ellie; Megan and Alexandra literally got off in a music video:

Maybe just hang around North-West London delis or Brent Cross shopping centre to "randomly" bump into Eyal and then tell him about how much you love yoga or whatever. Bang, you're now best buddies and got that step closer to that plane ride to Mallorca.

Seem compatible with someone already on the show

It's openly admitted by Iain Sterling's voiceovers that the producers clearly look to parachute people onto the show specifically with one islander in mind. Look at how Alexandra seemed so pre-destined to get with Alex?

Maybe if you want to slip in last-minute for the 2018 show you've just gotta caption all your insta posts with "I love chelsea boots and salmon shirts" or "stethoscopes and zero flirting skills are such a turn on" and you'll be on the first flight to Mallorca when Alex and Alex inevitably break up.

All of these sensible bits of advice aren't working for you? You need to step up your game – here are some of the more hardcore tips for the true elites:

Look like these bizarrely specific templates

The producers clearly believe that only about four types of people actually exist/are worthy to go on the show. Aim to look like that.

Or have loads of plastic surgery

If you don't already meet the right criteria then why not go down Megan's route and have £25K of plastic surgery done? Getting on Love Island ain't no joke, and if you're willing to genuinely change everything about yourself for fame then I reckon the producers will see that as a big plus.

Have a really vanilla name

Josh, Josh, Jack, Jack, Ellie, Ellie, Alex, Alex, Alex, Charlie, Charley, Charlie…

Savanna never had a chance 🙁

Get with Britney Spears

Okay this one is a bit of a longshot tbh – but newboy Paul Knops was in a music video getting hot and heavy with pop superstar Britney. If he can do it, maybe you can as well?

And if all of that fails?

You might have to just do a good old-fashioned application like the rest of us. Good luck with that though – it is statistically harder to get into the villa than it is to Oxbridge. (Love Island is more fun though tbh)

Related stories recommended by this writer:

1) Quiz: Can you accurately guess all the ages of the Love Island contestants?

2) Every Love Island moment which proves just how staged it really is

3) These are all the celebs that watch Love Island plus their Twitter opinions about it