Love Island late addition Conor Phillips reveals bad habit set to cause HAVOC in the villa
Love Island late addition Conor Phillips has revealed his bad habit, which is set to cause havoc in the villa.
The professional rugby player, 25, from Limerick, Ireland, was announced as the new contestant on the ITV2 dating show on Wednesday.
It came after water operative Kyle Ashman, 23, from Stafford, threw the show into chaos after The Sun reported he was allegedly involved in a machete attack in February when masked thugs stormed a wake and hacked at a dad with a blade.
Kyle was one of two arrested by police but he was released with no further action. He chose to leave the Love Island line-up earlier this week.
But his last-minute replacement Conor has now revealed the character trait that might make him unpopular in the iconic villa in Mallorca, ahead of the upcoming series starting on June 9.
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He said: 'I'm a bit of a s*** stirrer, I suppose, from being in rugby teams and being [in] big environments with big personalities, macho guys, I suppose that's a lot of what goes on.
'And that kind of comes into, yeah, that kind of trickles into your everyday life when I'm with my friends who aren't on the rugby team and stuff.'
Conor has said he is looking for a woman willing to make just as much of a splash: 'Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic.
'I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman.'
Revealing his biggest ick ahead of the series, Conor said: 'Being too needy, or needing to do everything together.
'I like someone to be independent and do their own thing and then we come together and do our thing.'
And of his flirting skills, he said: 'I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing.
'It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course!'
His last-minute replacement Conor has now revealed the character trait that might make him unpopular in the iconic villa in Mallorca (L-R Harry, Blu, Alima, Tommy, Megan, Helena, Ben, Sophie, Meg, Sharkia, Dejon and Kyle)
It comes after Kyle shared his side of the story, explaining his innocence and hopes to be able to have a chance on Love Island in the future.
Speaking in a video shared to Instagram, Kyle said: 'I'm sure you have seen the news circulating. I'm innocent, there was no further action taken.
'I'm not a bad guy. I'm a normal guy from a normal place. An opportunity arose to find love, I grabbed it with both hands and it's been taken away from me.
Kyle added: 'I have seen the support pages and who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to go on Casa Amor, or as a bombshell, get back in and show you who I really am.
'Show you that I am not a bad guy... we'll see.'
He captioned the clip: 'Just wanted to share my side.'
ITV declined to comment when contacted previously by MailOnline.
Following the reports of February's incident, Kyle confirmed he had no involvement in it - but chose to leave the ITV show regardless.
He told MailOnline: 'I fully cooperated with this police investigation and made it very clear that I had no involvement in this incident.
'I am not a violent person and any suggestion otherwise is a mischaracterisation.'
Meanwhile ITV added: 'For personal reasons, Kyle will not be entering the Love Island Villa as planned.'
The Love Island line-up was only announced on Tuesday so Kyle's last-minute departure will have plunged the show into chaos ahead of Monday's launch episode.
The Sun have revealed they alerted show bosses about Kyle being questioned on the attack.
But ITV said they were unaware of the incident and he was not flagged during the contestant checks.
The incident on February 28 saw the victim, 38, nearly lose his arm after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and kept it for around two weeks.
Another mourner was reportedly glassed, one hit with a metal pole, and two people were run over by a car during the 15 minute attack at the The White Eagle Club in Stafford.
Sources said the victim was attacked by three balaclava-clad thugs over an alleged £3,000 debt.
He was injured by a blade that left him with a deep gash and has suffered tendon damage and is now unable to drive.
Police confirmed earlier this week that after the matter was investigated, Kyle and another individual were released with no further action only last month.
A show source told the publication: 'ITV were entirely unaware of Kyle's past and, as he was not charged, it was not flagged as part of Love Island's stringent DBS checks.
'It's only right he can now return home to the UK to share his side of the story and therefore bosses took the decision that it was best for him not to enter the villa.'
Staffordshire Police said on Monday: 'A 22-year-old man, from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of wounding and affray.
'Another man, also 22 and from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of affray.
'Both were questioned in custody and bailed with conditions while our enquiries continue.'
Kyle does not have a strong social media presence with just one picture on his Instagram profile.
Prior to his departure, he said he was looking for 'someone that's fun, confident and just themselves'.
Kyle revealed his tactic for impressing the ladies is showering them with compliments.
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