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Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Where are the Virgin Island cast now? Inside the contestants' lives a year after filming - from new relationships to battling unemployment and surprising medical diagnosis
Virgin Island wrapped up on Tuesday evening and saw one of the stars lose their virginity in outrageous scenes. The finale saw the group of 12 adults - who had never had sex before - complete the sixth and final phase of the retreat - escalation - and that all meant different things to the contributors. Holly opened up about her sexuality to Dr Danielle Harel, Zac managed to finally get close with surrogate Kat Slade and Ben got fully naked in front of someone for the first time. Not only that, but Dave ticked off exactly what he wanted to do - have sexual intercourse with another person. The controversial programme was filmed in Croatia back in 2024 and many are keen to know what the cast are up to now - and if they have managed to do the deed. Right at the end of the last instalment, it was revealed that three more of the stars have lost their virginity, but that's far from all they've been up to since filming wrapped... Charlotte The show stated: 'Charlotte is enjoying her new found body confidence.' The 29 year old care worker grew as a person while taking part in the retreat and has since been 'more comfortable' in her skin, and 'in romantic situations'. But one big change that has occurred for Charlotte is her ADHD diagnosis - something that she now takes medication for. Ben Civil servant Ben, 30, is still a virgin, but he has been busy speed dating and has added three more women to his spreadsheet. However, shortly after returning home he lost his job as a parliamentary researcher for MP Michael Fabricant. Writing in The Times, Ben said: 'And yes, I am still a virgin, but I no longer consider it a source of humiliation or embarrassment. I wouldn't exactly call myself 'proud' to be a virgin either; it's just a simple description of my sexual status. 'While my experience on was extremely positive, my life since has been anything but, for reasons entirely unrelated to relationships or intimacy, I might add.' He added: 'Unfortunately, my worst fears were realised and in the early hours of July 5, my boss lost his seat, and I therefore lost my dream job. 'My shining source of pride, and the positive counterweight to my intimacy and self-image negativity, had been shattered into dust. 'Without a shadow of doubt this was the worst moment of my life.' Dave Dave has come on leaps and bounds since taking part in the retreat last year. According to the programme, accountant Dave, 24, has a new girlfriend. Speaking to The Sun about sleeping with his girlfriend, he said: 'Our first time together was amazing. 'I never would have been able to talk to her without this show. But I don't think my girlfriend will watch, for obvious reasons. 'She watched the first four episodes, but it's getting a bit much now. You don't want to see your partner with someone else, even if it was a year ago. 'She's openly said it's like watching a completely different person.' Emma During her time on the retreat the food worker, 23, grew close to her co-star Viraj and after filming they did go on a date together. However according to the show, nothing has happened between the pair since. Emma has been busy traveling Down Under. Holly Dog groomer Holly, 23, was one of the more quieter members of the cast, but opened up towards the end about her sexuality. She told Dr Danielle that she may be bisexual, but later bagged herself a boyfriend after filming and slept with him. The pair are no longer together. Speaking about the huge moment, Holly told The Sun: 'I messaged the chat almost as soon as it happened. I was excited to tell them.' Jason Admin worker Jason, 25, has joined dating app Hinge. One of the cast members caught his eye - Louise - and he did bite the bullet and ask her on a date. However she's not currently living in the UK, but isn't opposed going on one with him apparently. Louise At the end of Tuesday night's show, Virgin Island revealed that care advisor, 22, Louise has been busy travelling Australia. According to The Sun she would be down for a date with co-star Jason if she decides to return home from New Zealand. Pia The digital marketing assistant, 23, bravely opened up about her condition vaginismus. Vaginismus occurs when the vagina suddenly tightens up whenever penetration is attempted. During her time on the show she was able to enjoy pleasure with help from one of the sexperts. After her time in Croatia, Pia reunited with one of her exes. Drama student Tom, 23, spoke about his gender identity with the sexperts and the rest of the cast during the retreat. The show has said that he's had a 'fresh start' and decided to carry on studying and is still a student in Manchester. Since the show he hasn't slept with anyone. Tom said: 'I'm still single, and I haven't had a one-night stand in the last year, so I can't say I've put too much of it into practice.' Taylor Despite growing so much as a person, she's still not slept with anyone since the show After being terrified at the thought of being touched, Taylor managed to open up to surrogate Kat. The receptionist, 29, bravely spoke out about her sexuality and game out as a lesbian. Despite growing so much as a person, she's still not slept with anyone since the show. Viraj Personal trainer Viraj, 25, was very flirty with his co-star Emma during the retreat. The fitness fanatic is also travelling Australia, but not with Emma. Zac Delivery driver Zac, 28, was one of the most confident of the cast who joined the retreat. He was keen to lose his virginity during one of his sex surrogacy sessions, but it didn't end up happening. However he has said that expressing his thoughts and feelings is 'a work in progress'. At the end of the programme, the show stated: 'Zac is feeling positive for the future.' VIRGIN ISLAND: MEET THE CAST! NAME: EMMA AGE: 23 OCCUPATION: FOOD WORKER Emma said: 'I was the only virgin amongst my friendship group, I felt outnumbered. 'I believed I was the only human experiencing adult life without intimacy but I couldn't relax when there is the possibility of intimacy and I had to battle previous traumas. 'The fact that this concept was being brought to TV made me realise being over 21 and never having sex was not as rare as I thought it was.' NAME: BEN AGED: 30 Ben said: 'A friend sent me the casting call for Virgin Island on social media. I'm not sure if he knew I was a virgin, but he knew I'd struggled in this area. 'Funnily enough, my immediate response to his message was 'not a chance'.' NAME: DAVE AGE: 24 Dave said: 'An initial joke by some friends for some cheap laughs slowly became the opportunity of a lifetime. 'I have always struggled to open up to people but this led me to feel invisible - a feeling I couldn't take anymore. 'I felt like it couldn't continue and I wanted to do something drastic to get my life back on track. NAME: JASON AGE: 25 OCCUPATION: ADMIN WORKER Jason said: 'I always felt like a failure in terms of intimacy and socialness. 'I know the island was primarily for intimacy, but it had the amazing bonus of helping me improve my social skills – and for that, I will be forever grateful.' NAME: LOUISE AGE: 22 Louise said: 'I never really imagined applying for a show like Virgin Island but my friend sent me the application as a joke, and I thought, 'Why not?' 'I was at the point where I was willing to try anything. 'I had just accepted that there must've just been something wrong with me - I think the fact that my friends would see the word 'virgin' and think of me says enough to be honest.' NAME: CHARLOTTE AGE: 29 Charlotte said: 'Because I wanted to rid myself of my shame that I had surrounding my body, and my desire, and my ability to give myself pleasure. 'I wanted to be honest with myself so that I would not be hindered when having relationships in the future.' NAME: HOLLY AGE: 23 OCCUPATION: DOG GROOMER She said: 'I felt like I was at a point in my life where I was ready to experience being with someone, but I had a lot of anxiety and questions about myself that I felt I had to work through before taking that step. 'I was definitely nervous, not knowing what to expect, what the others were going to be like, whether I was actually going to get anything out of it.' NAME: PIA AGE: 23 Pia said: 'I applied for Virgin Island because of my struggles with vaginismus. 'I wanted to overcome the pain and anxiety I felt when exploring penetrative sex. 'Plus, I found intimacy incredibly overwhelming.' NAME: TAYLOR AGE: 29 Taylor said: 'I spent my whole adult life wondering why I found sexual things so difficult when others didn't. 'When I was a teenager, the risks of sex seemed to far outweigh the benefits, the only benefit anyone spoke of was babies, and I certainly wasn't ready for one of those. NAME: TOM AGE: 23 Tom said: 'I always found myself to be a freak because I struggled to lose my virginity whilst others around me continued to pop their cherries. 'It severely affected my mental health, filling me with self-loathing which in turn made me a worse person.' NAME: VIRAJ AGE: 25 Viraj said: 'I had a massive struggle to express myself in front of women. 'For me it wasn't about the intimacy stage but more with the confidence side of talking to women and making small talk. 'This whole idea was encouraged by my friends for me to get out of my comfort zone and go through with this.' NAME: Zac AGE: 23 Zac said: 'There was a man reporting that Channel 4 was looking for adult virgins to take part in an experimental TV show. This was of course describing me. 'At first I was like - no way, I'm not gonna do that, but I started to think about it more and more, and I realised that I wasn't really getting anywhere by myself, time was just passing me by with no real positive change.'
The Sun
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Virgin Island viewers brand finale ‘most uncomfortable viewing ever' – but beg for second series
VIEWERS of Virgin Island branded the finale as the 'most uncomfortable viewing ever.' However, many people who watched the hit Channel 4 show still begged for a second series. 5 5 5 Virgin Island followed a group of young adults as they attempted to embark on an 'erotic awakening'. 12 brave contestants were housed at a luxurious Mediterranean retreat to try and overcome anxiety over intimacy. The group features young men and women in their twenties as they discuss why they've struggled to reach the important milestone in life - having sex. Viewers tuned into the final instalment of the first series of the show after following the journey. Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman are the sex experts who were on hand to lead the process with a dedicated team. Kat Slade and Andre Lazarus were also available as trained surrogate partners who helped the group tackle issues around intimacy. One 24-year-old contestant named Dave actually lost his virginity to a somatic practitioner, Kat, in the finale. Viewers were gobsmacked as he was heard moaning and groaning as he was given guidance through his first sexual experience. As the first series of the show came to an end, droves of viewers flocked to social media as they slammed the series as "uncomfortable." But despite this, many viewers practically begged the commercial network to give the green light to a second series. Moment virgin has sex on Virgin Island with surrogate partner Writing on X - formerly known as Twitter - one fan wrote: "Possibly the strangest thing I've ever watched, maybe with the exception of Dogging Tales." While a second commented: "Virgin Island has been the most uncomfortable thing I've ever watched. I hope there is a season two." "Are we all signing up for the next series!, exclaimed a third user on the platform. As someone else fumed: "#VirginIsland probably the most uncomfortable viewing. Only lasted 20mins and had to turn it off, felt like I was watching a love cult in action." And a fifth viewer added: "If there isn't an another series of this I will be extremely disappointed. "I thought it would just be a laugh but actually it's been weirdly interesting." 5 5
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Virgin Island's male sex surrogate reveals what REALLY happens when he's not attracted to a client - but has to perform in bed
Virgin Island's male sex surrogate has revealed what really happens when he's not attracted to a client - but has to perform in bed. Andre Lazarus and Kat Slade sat down with Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley on Thursday's instalment of This Morning. The pair star on Channel 4 's shocking new show which sees sexologists Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman and their team, guide a group of 12 virgins on a unique course. Since launching earlier this month, viewers have seen the contributors, all aged between 22 and 30 years old, overcome a range of emotional hurdles to take their first steps towards sex and intimacy. Sessions with a surrogate partner is one of the approaches some of the contributors get involved in, and Andre opened up more about the dynamics of the relationship. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Intimacy does involve attraction, physically there has to be something that happens to a man if it's going to go further as well, how do you manage that Andre if you've got a client that perhaps you aren't sexually attracted to but wants to take that further?' Ben asked. Andre, who has been a surrogate partner for four years, said: 'Physically, I would say that as a man we don't have to have all of our body parts working in order to form intimate connection or in order to have physical intimacy be something that feels good in our body.' The Channel 4 star went on to explain how he felt it was a 'common misconception'. He went on: 'Really what we can do is tune into our body and say I'm enjoying touch, I'm enjoying kissing, I'm enjoying hugging and that can be an intimate moment and then that takes us out of our head which allows the rest of our body to come online.' During the conversation, Cat asked how they 'keep things separate'. Kat divulged that they don't 'differentiate emotions and the physical side of things'. She explained: 'We don't try to keep them separate, we really want all of that to be a part of the process I mean it wouldn't really help people to learn the physical without really being in it emotionally, so we welcome all of it.' Sexologists Danielle and Celeste previously discussed surrogate partnership with MailOnline. Celeste describes the relationship between the client and surrogate as 'authentic' and shared how the dynamic can reflect what would happen in a 'real relationships', including the possibility of 'performance problems' from either the surrogate or client. 'It is really an authentic relationship,' she explained. 'So one thing that can happen in a relationship is that someone has performance problems, and so they would just communicate about it and say, oh, you know, something's not working here. Let's take a break. Let's try again.' The sexologist added: 'That authenticity is what actually prepares people to have real relationships out in the world. 'So it's not just like trying to force something and a lot of times surrogates do work with people who have pretty significant dysfunctions, and so they need to work with those kinds of things, both in their clients and if it comes up in themselves as well.' There's a 'triadic relationship' between the client, surrogate and a separate therapist to help tackle issues, including if the client develops feelings. Celeste explained: 'They have the therapist built into the relationship, because if feelings become developed, the therapist is available to talk the client through whatever feelings that they have around it.' She added: 'The therapist is there to keep that the container and the boundaries.' Danielle expressed that on the show, the boundaries in the relationship were clear between the contributors and surrogates. While Tuesday's instalment of the Channel 4 show took a racy turn when Kat straddled accountant Dave for a steamy kiss in bid to conquer his 'fear of genitals touching'. Speaking to the camera, Dave confessed: 'I don't have the confidence to get to know someone. 'In an intimate moment I'm scared about what they are going to think about my body and what I am like. 'I've got to start living my life properly.' The voice over explains: 'Getting naked in the work shop was a huge step for Dave. But does it mean he's ready to take his therapy to the next level?' Kat tells Dave: 'My suggestion would be to practice touch and giving feed back.' A nervous Dave replies: 'Okay.' The pair get closer to each other on the sofa and she tells him: 'I'll have you to start with my arm...' Dave then strokes the top of her shoulder, but he nervously says: 'I'll try. Long and stuff.' Kat asks Dave: 'Can you look at me while you do it?' Dave responds: 'Yeah I can.' The voice over explains: 'Building up to sex to a surrogate partner Kat is a possibility if Dave can master the basics and form a connection.' While lying down, Dave asks her: 'Am I okay to try and sort of go on top?' As he gets on top of her, Kat tells him: 'And you can kiss too, with your mouth if you want.' After locking lips for one second, Dave tells her: 'I don't feel like this is the best position. 'I don't like the way my arm is. ' Kat asks him: 'Are you self conscious about our genitals touching each other? Is that why you're in that position?' She continues: 'Does that make you uncomfortable?' A truthful Dave says: 'Subconsciously, yeah.' So Kat asks if he wants to try again with her on top in stead, to which he was down to try. 'Can you go on top?' Dave asks, to which she tells him: 'Absolutely.' 'Yeah, I'm staying still, aren't I?' Dave replies.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Virgin Island stars left squirming as sexperts flirt up a storm with each other and even kiss during intimate dating role play
A first look at Monday's episode of Virgin Island sees the stars squirming as the sexperts flirt up a storm with each other and even kiss during an intimate dating role play activity. Viewers will see Celeste Hirschman and Dr Danielle Harel get very up close and personal on tonight's (Monday 19 May) episode of the programme. In an exclusive clip obtained by MailOnline, Celeste tells the virgins: 'So we're going to talk about the skills of a great date.' Dr Danielle says: 'All the skills we need to have great relationships are just skills. You wanna learn them and practice them.' The voice over explains: 'Celeste and Danielle have a rule of three dating skills.' Celeste continues: 'The first one is giving an in the moment compliment. Like I really love how your eyes twinkle when you smile. The stars of the Channel 4 show are left cringing 'You know something that feels you're connecting with the person. 'The second one is both being able to give and recognise the look. The look means I'm ready now, I'm ready to be kissed. 'The third skill is the lean in for the kiss. We're going to do a little demo. 'Then you're going to have the opportunity to practice.' The voice over says: 'In this case, practice means role play.' The pair head over to a table and get very touchy feely with each other during their flirty conversation. Celeste tells Danielle: 'So happy we finally got here. It's been a lot of planning.' To which Danielle replies: 'I know right.' Celeste gets the conversation going and asks her: 'Do you like to travel?' Danielle tells her: 'Oh my god. I love travelling. Travelling is my passion.' Keen to show the group how to keep the conversation going, and how it can lead to a more flirtatious one, Celeste asks: 'Where's your favourite place? But Danielle couldn't think of anything and tells her: 'Wow I can't think of anything' as she giggles away. A flirty Celeste tells her: 'I could listen to that laugh all day long.' Danielle says: 'You're embarrassing me a little bit but I like it too.' She then pointed out: 'Did you see that flirting was going on all the time? Danielle said to Celeste: 'You are giving me the look.' She replied: 'I was also getting it off you, I think.' The sexperts then held hands across the table and stared into each other's eyes. Celeste kissed Danielle's hand delicately and Danielle groaned. 'You're such a good kisser,' she told her. The pair started giggling, but the virgins were watching in embarrassment as they were told them that they needed to go and practice themselves.
Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
We teach young people to have sex on Virgin Island. It takes a while
Many television shows scrutinise the love lives of British youth, but none have looked through quite as intimate a lens as Virgin Island, a Channel 4 documentary series that debuted last week. In the programme, 12 people in their twenties or thirties are taken to the private Obonjan island off the coast of Croatia for a 'Mediterranean glamping-style escape', where they face their fears about sex and physical relationships. Thankfully, they are not left to their own devices. The retreat is run by two Californian sexologists, Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman, who teach group classes and one-on-one sessions with the help of six intimacy coaches. Over the six episodes, they gradually shed their students' fears and inhibitions about physical intimacy. Some have dismissed
