EXCLUSIVE Love Island sign Maura Higgins lookalike for new series who's a pantomime actress from Dublin and calls herself the 'modern day Bridget Jones'
Love Island has signed up a pantomime star and Maura Higgins lookalike who brands herself a 'modern Bridget Jones' for the upcoming season.
MailOnline can reveal Megan Forte Clarke, 24, from Dublin, recently starred as one of the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, but she's likely to get the pulses racing on the ITV2 show due to her sassy Irish charm, which sparks further similarities to Love Island legend Maura.
Megan has a 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.'
The actress already has a sizeable TikTok following and the social media platform is where she makes her comparison with unlucky-in-love Bridget.
She said: 'I am the modern day Bridget Jones. 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.'
And ITV bosses are hoping that Megan can recreate some of Maura's Irish magic on the series this year, which returns to screens next Monday.
A TV source told MailOnline: '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.
'ITV are yet to officially confirm the lineup of singletons heading into the villa this year but with the show's launch just a week away, it won't be long until they do.'
Megan's pantomime appearance took place at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, last Christmas.
She honed her craft studying performing arts at The Brighton Academy and some of her showcases can be viewed online.
Megan documents her pantomime involvement on her Instagram account which has nearly 4,000 followers and is littered with bikini snaps.
She also includes pictures of herself and a group of pals dressing up as the stars of Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls.
Megan is the latest new Islander to be revealed ahead of this summer's series.
MailOnline has approached ITV for comment.
Megan has a 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'
Footballer Harry Cooksley and 6'5ft personal trainer Aaron Buckett are heading up the new batch of fellas, while beauties Shakira Khan and Sophie Lee are two of the girls lined up to appear.
Love Island returns to ITV next Monday with presenter Maya Jama at the helm.
This year, the show celebrates a decade on screens and promises to have more twists and turns than ever before in honour of their 10-year anniversary.
The series, which has been streamed over two billion times on ITVX, has seen over 300 Islanders pass through the villa doors over the years, including the likes of Olivia Attwood, Dani Dyer, Chris Hughes, and Molly-Mae Hague.
On Sunday night, fans were treated to a look back at the past 10 years with a special one-off anniversary show, where Islanders including newly married Dani reflected on their time in the Mallorca villa.
Dani, who married footballer Jarrod Bowen on Saturday, even revealed her new mother-in-law voted for her and 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
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
The World Tonight More killings near US-Israeli backed Gaza aid site
More Palestinians have been killed near an aid distribution site in Gaza. Israel says it will investigate. The Labour Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee says it's time to sanction Israeli government ministers. Also tonight: The government is under pressure to spend even more on defence than planned - just a day after publishing its defence review. We ask one of the report's authors whether its figures are already out of date. As the Dutch government collapses, we examine how rows over immigration are reshaping European politics. And as the Serpentine Pavilion celebrates 25 years, the leading Bangladeshi architect behind this year's creation has been giving me a tour.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Footy legend Robert DiPierdomenico reveals the real story behind viral video of him going berserk in a nightclub with famous DJ
Footy icon Robert DiPierdomenico has opened up about what happened on the night he was filmed dancing like a much younger man in a nightclub clip that has gone viral among AFL fans. The footage shows the 67-year-old tearing up the dance floor with his shirt unbuttoned halfway to his navel as he's filmed by other revellers before he hugs the DJ who's performing at the venue. Footy supporters have gone wild for the footage, leaving comments like 'this video is so iconic', 'this is 10/10' and 'the man is a national treasure'. Now the five-time premiership champion and Brownlow Medal winner has revealed what prompted the wild video, which featured famous Aussie DJ Dom Dolla spinning the decks at one of Greece's most famous islands. 'I was in Mykonos, Dom was playing in Mykonos and found out I was there,' DiPierdomenico explained. 'He asked me to come and play.' AFL icon Robert DiPierdomenico has revealed what happened on the night he was filmed dancing with a famous Aussie DJ in a Greek club (pictured) The 67-year-old (pictured left) was called a 'national treasure' as footy fans lapped up the wild footage of his big night out A quick look at Instagram shows he and his girlfriend Rebecca visited the famous European holiday destination in August last year, with the footy great's partner referring to 'vibrant parties that never end' during their vacation. 'Dipper' is famed for his exuberant personality and has previously talked about how he and his Hawthorn teammates would party in nightclubs until 2am during his playing days. However, life hasn't been too kind to the Hawthorn great in recent times. In January this year his son Dylan was jailed after admitting to 71 instances of fraud as he stole more than $140,000 from a former employer to fund his gambling addiction. During Dylan's case the court heard that his father played down the crime by saying 'it was just money'. DiPierdomenico - who split from his wife Cheryl in 2021 - has also suffered from serious health problems in recent years. A urinary problem that required surgery saw him visiting the bathroom up to 40 times a day and even forced him to wear adult nappies. DiPierdomenico revealed top DJ Dom Dolla (pictured) found out he was holidaying on the Greek island of Mykonos and asked him to come to his show 'Dipper' won five premierships and the Brownlow Medal during his time with Hawthorn 'I was going to the bathroom maybe four or five times and then it went to 10 or 12 times and then 30 or 40 and I did nothing about it,' he admitted in 2023. 'And then, of course, the pain started to come and then I had my operation and now I am 95 per cent back to where I was. 'Incontinence is a big thing in Australia, so I thought I'd put my hand up and let you know that I'm one of those 1.5 million men who suffer from it, but through a few exercises, I'm back - I'm back big-time.' In February this year DiPierdomenico opened up about another health problem that caused him severe pain, even compared to the long list of serious injuries he suffered during his 240-game career. 'Compared to the pain of many of my sporting injuries, shingles was relentless. It put me out of action for nine days,' he said. 'It was horrible to experience personally, and I know some of my loved ones, like my partner and my mum, have also experienced the pain and discomfort of shingles.' Dipper remains heavily involved with Hawthorn and appeared at a club fundraiser alongside fellow team legends Peter Knights and Peter Hudson last week.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Doctor warns of 'highly toxic' effect of popular natural remedy - after it puts toddler in a coma
Ingesting tea tree oil could result in life-threatening organ damage, seizures and even a coma, a GP has warned. According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a UK based doctor, swallowing tiny amounts of the essential oil can result in serious poisoning 'within a minute'. In an Instagram video that has so far been viewed over 2.1million times, Dr Mezher explained the risks in response to a video of a young boy who ended up in a coma after swallowing it. Dr Mezher said: 'Swallowing tea tree oil can be highly toxic due to its potent chemical composition, which includes terpinen-4-ol, cineole, and other volatile compounds.' Terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant compound in tea tree oil—extracted from the Melaleuca alternifolia tree—which posses antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. However when ingested, the oil can rapidly affect the nervous system, leading to drowsiness, loss of coordination and seizures. In 2022 alone, the US poison control centre treated more than 2,200 cases of toxicity linked to tea tree oil. 'One of them was a 23-month-old boy who drank just 10mls which put him in a coma for five hours until he thankfully recovered,' Dr Mezher explained. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sermed Mezher (@drsermedmezher) He added that its supposed benefits for skin health may also be bogus. 'Tree oil has been sold as a miracle cure to multiple skin conditions, and yet there's very little evidence that it works,' he said. A 2023 study found that tea tree oil has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that helped treat teenage and adult acne—though researchers cautioned it was not possible to draw conclusions on its safety. The poison control centre treated twice as many cases of toxicity caused by tea tree oil compared to any other essential oil, including cinnamon, clove and eucalyptus oil. 'I don't know about you, but I am not keeping this at home,' Dr Mezher cautioned. As well as attacking the nervous system, ingesting the 'horrifically toxic' product can also irritate the gastrointestinal tract, causing nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 'Tea tree oil is also harsh on the liver,' Dr Mezher added. 'The body struggles to metabolise its toxic components, potentially leading to organ damage with repeated or high-dose exposure.' 'Because tea tree oil absorbs quickly into the bloodstream, poisoning symptoms can appear within minutes to a few hours. 'If ingestion occurs, immediate medical attention is essential to prevent serious complications.' The NHS warns against trying to make someone who has swallowed something poisonous and is unconscious sick, and recommends instead putting them in the recovery position until an ambulance arrives. Tea tree oil, a common ingredient in many skincare products, has previously been linked to a number of superbug infections including MRSA—a type of bacteria that is resistant to treatment and causes life-threatening infection. US scientists discovered that repeated low-dose use of the essential oil made the MRSA bacteria, as well as and salmonella, more resistant to antibiotics. Professor David McDowell, from the University of Ulster, warned that people who use tea tree oil on their skin repeatedly to treat acne, could be 'stressing' the bacteria on the skin rather than killing it—increasing their resistance to antibiotics. 'Although tea tree oil may be an effective antimicrobial agent when appropriately used at high concentrations, its application at low concentrations may contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance in human pathogens,' he warned.
