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Love Island bosses ‘in talks’ to cast first-ever transgender contestant

16 April 2025, 13:16 | Updated: 17 April 2025, 15:47

By Jenny Medlicott

Love Island bosses are reportedly 'in talks' with Michelle Roscoe to discuss her becoming the show's first-ever transgender contestant.

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While we all eagerly await the arrival of the next Love Island summer series, it's only natural that casting rumours have begun to swirl and now one new name has emerged as a potential villa hopeful.

Previous years of Love Island have seen the likes of Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Curtis Pritchard, Molly-Mae Hague, Tommy Fury, Maura Higgins, Grace Jackson and many more join the island villa, for plenty of drama, poolside chats and romance.

But now, according to insiders, the show is reportedly in talks with a transgender woman named Michelle Roscoe to discuss the possibility of her joining the lineup of this summer’s series.

This would make Michelle the first-ever transgender person to join the show in it's 10 year history.

Read more: Love Island's Ekin-Su responds to MAFS' Georges' claim she cheated on him
Read more: Why did Chris Hughes and Olivia Attwood split?

Love Island bosses are reportedly 'in talks' with Michelle Roscoe (pictured) about joining the next series. Picture: Instagram

Love Island bosses are apparently always keen to “evolve” and “move with the times” when it comes to casting contestants on the show, a source told the tabloids.

They told the outlet: “They have met with Michelle and spoken to her about whether Love Island would be the right show for her. She is absolutely gorgeous and an advocate for the trans community so she’d be an incredibly interesting contestant.”

It would be a “huge moment for Love Island” if Michelle made the cut for casting given there’s thousands of people eager to bag a spot on the show, the source added. However, they were clear that no decisions have been made yet.

Maya Jama will return as the host of Love Island this summer. . Picture: ITV

Previously, ITV boss Kevin Lygo spoke about how he wants to push the boundaries of Love Island but was unable to cast gay people due to “logistical difficulties".

He said back in 2021: ”If you wanted to do a gay version, or you wanted to widen it, it is discussed and we haven’t yet found a way that would make it suitable for that show.”

"It goes without saying that we want to encourage greater inclusivity and diversity," he added.

The new report comes after series 2 of Love Island All Stars wrapped in February, seeing couple Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen claim the crowning spot on the show, alongside runners up Luca Bish and Grace Jackson.

The summer series of Love Island is set to return to our screens in June with Maya Jama back as series host and we're sure plenty of drama from contestants to keep us entertained throughout the summer.

While we don’t know any further details of the cast for this summer’s series, we’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we hear anything!