‘Love Island UK' Adds Rugby Player Conor Philips To Season 12 Cast Following Surprise Islander Exit
Love Island UK Season 12 has not even started, and there's already drama in the villa.
Following the cast reveal for the new season of the ITV2 series, it was confirmed that Kyle Ashman would not enter the villa after being a suspect in a machete attack incident.
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A day after Ashamn was dumped from the show, the British broadcaster found a replacement: Irish rugby player Conor Philips.
Philips is 25 and lives in Limerick. In his interview, Philips said that he is looking for '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.'
The Islander's biggest ick is '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.'
Philips also said he is a good singer, adding, 'My go to is Mario's 'Let Me Love You'. I've sang in front of a lot of people before. If it's your first rugby match you have to get on the bus and sing -they loved it!'
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Ashman was initially announced as one of the 12 Islanders entering the villa in Mallorca on their quest for love. However, ITV was soon made aware that earlier this year, Ashman was interrogated about a gruesome incident that occurred in his hometown in Stafford. Although Ashman was questioned about the incident, he denied any involvement, saying in a statement to Deadline, '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 mischaracterization.'
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Love Island UK Season 12 premieres on Monday, June 9, at 9 p.m. on ITV2 and streams on ITVX in the UK. U.S.-based viewers can catch the new season of the dating series starting Thursday, June 12, on Hulu.
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