
Maura this, please! Love Island's ‘new Higgins' set to enter the villa
Ireland's latest entry to the Love Island villa has an unusual claim to fame – she's best known for being… ugly! Panto star Megan Forte Clarke has signed up for the new series, starting next Monday.
Extra.ie can reveal the Dubliner, who starred as one of the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, will get pulses racing on the show – airing on ITV2 and Virgin Media Two – due to her 'Irish charm', which has sparked comparisons to Maura Higgins.
A TV source said: 'Megan is a gorgeous girl, she's funny, and right now, couldn't be unluckier in love, making her the perfect Islander. Comparisons to Maura are inevitable, and if anything, Megan will see it as a huge compliment. Former Love Island contestant Maura Higgins. Pic: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock
ITV are yet to confirm the lineup this year officially, but with the launch just a week away, it won't be long.'
The actress has a sizeable TikTok following, and it is there that she also brands herself as a 'modern Bridget Jones'.
She said: 'Can I hold a man down? Don't be silly. Have I just been ghosted again? Absolutely. Am I still funny AF with great t*ts? Obvs.' Megan Forte Clarke is set to enter the Love Island villa this summer. Pic: File
Megan, 24, has another distinguishing feature that won't go unnoticed: a Harry Potter-style lightning scar on her forehead, which she claims was a result of her 'slipping and falling down the stairs'.
Soccer player Harry Cooksley and 6'5ft personal trainer Aaron Buckett are heading up the new batch of chaps, while beauties Shakira Khan and Sophie Lee are two of the girls lined up to appear.
This year, the show celebrates a decade on screens. The series has seen 300 Islanders pass through the villa doors, including the likes of Olivia Attwood, Dani Dyer, Chris Hughes and Molly-Mae Hague.
Dani, who married soccer player Jarrod Bowen on Saturday, has said her new mother-in-law voted for her and her ex-boyfriend, Jack Fincham, to win their series in 2018.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Nine creative and whimsical ways to add nature themes to your summer wardrobe
Mother Nature – the original summer muse; a constant source of style inspiration. Where would we be without her? Lemons, butterflies, fish and jungle flora are setting the prevailing print mood with the help of aquatic motifs. Think freewheeling and fun; pure creative whimsy – as it should be. Now, let's get into it. Looking for a wardrobe wonder? Irish designer Georgina O'Hanlon's 'Wild Child' silk scarf is just that. Featuring hand-drawn illustrations inspired childhood trips with her mother to County Clare, this bright botanical multitasker can be worn as a bandana, top, head wrap or necktie. Elegant and endlessly practical. From comely to conversational, Scandi print purveyors at Stine Goya win big with 'Lemons on a Plate': a still-life pattern rendered in a Tencel-blend in a dress and separates, both with a relaxed boxy fit. Equally laidback and oh-so-lovely, Dubai-based brand WhiteHello renders colourful tropical prints with fluid trousers and kimono wrap tops in skin-friendly silk. Your first-class travel co-ords await you. Should you prefer the aesthetic to the air miles, Farm Rio celebrates all things Brazilian in their serotonin-soaked collections. Scarf-tied basket bags, featuring parrots, fish and a Copacabana tribute make playful arm candy—perfect for holidays. Zara's high impact coral necklace pairing also punches well above its high street weight. Wear with a strapless dress while dining beachside or with a crisp white shirt and trouser pairing on home turf. Prefer something low-key? Try Essentiel Antwerp's rose mesh overlay skirt with a t-shirt and kitten heels. You'll thank me later. Dust off those Pinterest boards, folks. It's going to be an interesting season. 'Lemons on a plate' midi dress and shirt 'Lemons on a plate' midi dress, €395, and shirt €255, Stine Goya Stine Goya, €395 and €255 Short sleeve 'Leo' jacket Short sleeve 'Leo' jacket, WhiteHello, €264 WhiteHello, €264 'Wild Child' silk scarf 'Wild Child' silk scarf, Georgina O'Hanlon Illustration, €105 Georgina O'Hanlon Illustration, €105 'Jacky' trousers 'Jacky' parrots trousers, WhiteHello, €218 WhiteHello, €218 Pack of two coral necklaces with resin Pack of 2 coral necklaces with resin, Zara, €39.95 Zara, €39.95 Stine Goya 'Spring Mimosa' midi dress Stine Goya midi dress, Zalando, €270 Zalando, €270 Floral mesh overlay skirt Floral mesh overlay skirt, Essentiel Antwerp, €245 Essentiel Antwerp, €245 Ruffle floral mini dress Ruffle floral mini dress, & Other Stories, €129 & Other Stories, €129 Farm Rio scarf-detail printed basket bag Farm Rio scarf-detail printed basket bag, MyTheresa, €275 MyTheresa, €275 Read More Nine essential capsule wardrobe pieces to pack in your carry-on this summer


Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Bernard O'Shea: Nicola Coughlan has Supermacs, I have Coppers — Five Irish businesses we'd love gold cards for
In 2025, being granted a gold card isn't just a privilege—it's a cultural achievement. Forget Netflix deals or BAFTA nods. If you want genuine Irish respect, you need a VIP card for something that actually matters. Take Nicola Coughlan, for example. In between starring in Bridgerton and charming everyone from Graham Norton to the Vogue crowd, she casually revealed her most impressive accomplishment to date: a Supermac's Super VIP card. Issued for life. Unlimited access to garlic cheese chips. Possibly more potent than her passport. She posted a photo of the card with a caption that read like a mic drop: 'Few things that have happened to me impressed people more than this.' Honestly? Fair. Now, I can't compete with international fame, but I do hold a similarly revered item: a Coppers Gold Card. That's right. Free entry to Copper Face Jacks, the nightclub where careers are forged, relationships bloom and die, and where you're never more than six minutes away from someone roaring 'Maniac 2000.' But what if we thought bigger? What if there were more gold cards for more sacred Irish institutions? Let's say the quiet part out loud: here are five Irish businesses we'd all secretly love gold cards for. 1. Barack Obama Plaza – The spiritual home of mid-journey toilet stop It might be a motorway service station, but it's also a shrine. Named after the 44th President of the United States (via ancestral links to Moneygall, Offaly), Barack Obama Plaza is where Irish people make pilgrimages for breakfast rolls, diesel, and a quiet cry in the carpark. A gold card here? Game-changer. Unlimited sausage rolls, priority access to clean loos, and your own reserved spot under the statue of Michelle and Barack. Imagine pulling in, flashing your card, and being greeted by name like a celebrity on tour. It's not just a rest stop. It's a state of mind. 2. Brown Thomas – Where aspirations are spritzed with perfume Ah, Brown Thomas. You go in for a browse and come out with deep financial regret and a free spritz of Tom Ford on your left elbow. It's less a department store and more a test of willpower. But with a gold card? Suddenly, you're the main character. No more side-eyes from Chanel counters. No more pretending to be buying a wedding gift when you're just sniffing candles. You get a personal shopper, a glass of prosecco on arrival and a makeup artist who calls you 'darling' unironically. Heaven. 3. All Car Parks – Because modern Irish success is measured in free parking There are two types of Irish people: those who pay for parking and those who know a fella. A gold card for all car parks? That's prestige. That's wealth. That's freedom. Forget flying private. The proper flex is driving into any town in Ireland and confidently ignoring the parking meter. No more tapping apps, scrambling for coins, or desperately trying to decode whether you're in a loading bay. Your gold card waves all fines. It's basically diplomatic immunity with a windscreen sticker. 4. The NCT Centre – Where dreams are dashed over wiper blades The NCT Centre is Ireland's great leveller. It doesn't matter who you are—teacher, builder, bishop, or Taoiseach—if your car fails due to a dodgy headlamp alignment, like your driving test, you're driving home in shame (yes, I know the irony). The waiting room is a temple of tension, where people sit in silent prayer, watching their reg plates pop up on the screen like the results of a medical test. Nothing brings out middle-aged existential dread like a softly muttered, 'It didn't pass today.' A gold card means guaranteed passes, fast-tracked appointments, and immunity from the man who asks, 'Have you your insurance disk up?' You drive in, they salute. You drive out with a cup of tea and a sticker that says, 'Passed First Time (Because I'm Class).' And best of all? You never have to look up what 'axial play in wishbone bushes' means ever again. 5. Every Deli Counter in Ireland – The beating heart of the nation No matter how fancy our coffee gets or how many brunch spots are open, the Irish deli counter reigns supreme. It's where real decisions are made. Where builders, teachers, and sleep-deprived parents queue shoulder to shoulder for sustenance wrapped in foil. A gold card for all deli counters? It's the ultimate fantasy. You walk in, and they know your order. You say nothing. You raise an eyebrow, and they start buttering the roll. Chicken fillet, stuffing, cheese, taco sauce—all yours. No charge. No judgement. Just warm, bready love from Malin to Mizen Head. Nicola Coughlan might have Supermacs. I might have Coppers. But the truth is, a gold card isn't about VIP velvet ropes or getting a table at some rooftop bar in Manhattan. The real Irish fantasy isn't excess—it's recognition. It's walking into a place and being seen. Being known. Not for fame, but for familiarity. For being part of the furniture. And if it comes with free curry chips and a club orange? Even better. Read More How Cork got a science centre and space observatory in a 16th-century castle


The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Lorraine Kelly insists ‘I'm not done yet' after ITV slashes her show by 30mins and takes it off air for half the year
LORRAINE Kelly has insisted that she's 'not done yet' after ITV slashed her daytime show by 30 minutes. The legendary breakfast TV host has broken her silence after the commercial broadcaster Advertisement 5 Lorraine Kelly has insisted that she is 'not done yet' Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 5 ITV announced sweeping changes across its daytime programming Credit: Getty 5 The broadcaster slashed her time on air as she will no longer present for 22 weeks Credit: Getty Lorraine, 65, has been appearing on ITV breakfast screens for over four decades. She joined the original breakfast TV station TV-am in 1994 as its Scotland Correspondent. When the Camden-based company lost its licence, she was one of only a few stars who made the switch to GMTV in 1993. Since then she has been a mainstay fixture on ITV screens in various iterations of the morning format. Advertisement READ MORE ON THE ITV BLOODBATH However, the commercial network has announced sweeping changes to its daytime output. From January, Following the announcement, fears rose that the veteran presenter However, she insisted that she was not quite done yet when she spoke to Tom Kerridge on the Proper Tasty podcast . Advertisement Most read in News TV "I've been doing telly for over 40 years. It's mad isn't it? It's absolutely crazy," Lorraine remarked. "I started in breakfast telly in 1984, and I'm still getting away with it. Extraordinarily. Richard Madeley was facing GMB axe before crunch talks as another HUGE star 'is set to leave ITV' amid cuts bloodbath "40 years in TV last year was incredible. I got a BAFTA. "Here's a BAFTA for being alive." I thought, "Hang on a minute, I'm not done yet".' However, the star did allude that she likes to do different projects away from her Advertisement She continued: "Not so much in the morning, but if I do a wee show on Channel 4, or The Last Leg, or something like that. You can be unleashed. And I quite like that. "You do have to have a self-edit button, and I'm finding mine is not operating as much as it should. ITV's daytime TV schedule changes in full Good Morning Britain will be extended by 30 minutes to run from 6am to 9.30am daily. Lorraine will run from 9.30am-10am, on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year. During the weeks Lorraine is not on air, Good Morning Britain will run from 6am to 10am. This Morning will remain in its 10am-12.30pm slot on weekdays throughout the year. Loose Women will be in the 12.30-1.30pm slot, again on a seasonal basis for 30 weeks of the year. The changes will take effect from January 2026. Lorraine added: "So, when I'm sitting there and I look at something and I think, "Gosh, what an absolute k**b that person is," or how silly they are, I say it and I don't realise I've said it. So I have to watch." This comes after it was reported that Advertisement A source explained that she declined the opportunity to merge her daytime show with Good Morning Britain, and was 'prepared to walk away.' A new role titled 'Head of Lorraine' has also been created to oversee the daytime changes, but the contract only lasts for 12-months. 5 Lorraine's show was cut to just 30minutes of running time Credit: Rex 5 There were fears that the veteran presenter could quit the channel altogether Credit: PA Advertisement