New Love Island star Ope Sowande will be able to impress the girls in the villa with his dance moves, as he was previously a backing dancer on Strictly Come Dancing.
The West-End performer, from Lincolnshire, is one of the new sexy singletons who was announced as part of the 2026 line-up earlier this week.
In a matter of days, Ope, 27, will be on screens after swapping the dance floor for the iconic villa, where he will try and bag himself a new girl in the sunshine.
Back in 2024, Ope was a backing dancer during Sarah Hadland and Vitto Coppola’s Charleston to Popular from Wicked.
Sharing some snaps from the routine at the time, he wrote on Instagram: ‘Dope time dancing on @bbcstrictly. @tommythefranzen killed the choreo on this one.’
After finding out the news, many Love Island fans have shared how ‘obsessed’ they are with his Strictly background.
New Love Island star Ope Sowande might be able to impress the girls in the villa with his dance moves as he was previously a backing dancer on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing
Back in 2024, Ope (seen far right) was a backing dancer during Sarah Hadland and Vitto Coppola’s Charleston to Popular from Wicked
One said on X, formerly known as Twitter: ‘Obsessed with the fact he was a backing dancer for Sarah Hadland’s Charleston on Strictly.’
Another replied: ‘I fear I have no choice but to root for this man.’
‘ok so i want him to win.’
‘WAIT I LOVE HIM.’
Strictly isn’t the only show that Ope has appeared in as he has also starred as a danceer in ITV’s The X Factor live finals and Saturday Night Takeaway.
He’s also been in West End show The Lion King, as well as Hercules and Moulin Rouge! The Musical UK.
Writing on Instagram about his role as Simba in The Lion King, he said: ‘Wow what a week! I had the honour of performing as Simba 6/8 shows this week.
‘Such a challenge, but I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved. Thank you Hong, you been incredible.’
Sharing another video from the show, Ope said: ‘Time to say Goodbye to the Pridelands. Thank you LionKing for an amazing year.
‘P.S. Best double pirouette I’ve ever done.’
Many have rushed to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their excitement over Ope being on Strictly
In a matter of days, Ope, 27, will be swapping the dance floor for the iconic villa, where he will try and bag himself a new girl in the sunshine
He has also starred in an advert in 2021.
‘Ayyyyy my first TV advert. Wicked time filming this for Walkers crisps. Wys? Crisps in or crisps out?’
And he’s showed off his moves in Carly Burns’ Sweetheart music video.
We are just days away from Love Island returning to our screens for the 13th summer series.
And ITV bosses have revealed they are taking a huge risk with the first episode in a bid to ‘fight format fatigue’ and get viewing figures up.
The dating show returns on Monday, June 1, with a fresh batch of hopeful singles looking to find their type on paper.
Maya Jama, who has just finished filming The Celebrity Traitors, will return to host the series, and she has promised viewers there will be even more twists this year.
And speaking to the Daily Mail from the Mallorca villa, producers Amanda Stavri and Lewis Evans teased a never-before-seen coupling up in the first episode.
They said: ‘We’ve got to fight format fatigue and find new things to do. It’s really important that Love Island stays unpredictable. Viewers find it exciting when you pull the rug from under their feet and surprise them.
‘We come under scrutiny a lot, so we want to keep things fresh.’
While they aim to shake things up for loyal viewers, they reassured us that fan favourites, including Casa Amor, Movie Night, and Snog, Marry, Pie, will all be making a return.
Elsewhere, they lifted the lid on using the World Cup to their advantage this summer.
They shared: ‘This year’s marketing campaign is “it’s all kicking off”. The idea is that two big events are going on this summer that will get everyone talking. One is the World Cup, one is Love Island.
‘In America, Mexico, and Canada for the World Cup, and it’s all kicking off here in Mallorca for Love Island, and we’re hoping that there won’t just be gameplay on the pitch, but there’ll also be some gameplay in the Villa.
‘We’re going to play into that this year, and the first step is changing things. We’re doing something that we’ve never done before in the history of Love Island.
‘We’re going to take a big risk. We’re taking big risks, and we hope it pays off. We’re going to look at the challenges, which will be different. There are also more beds, and with more beds comes more bombshells.’
They added that there is a good mix of islanders, teasing international islanders could follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Toni Laites.
Speaking about the casting process, Amanda and Lewis explained: ‘Every year we try to matchmake, but it all goes out the window the moment they’re in the villa. They come to meet us in their castings, they’ll tell us who their types are, we’ll do a bit of snooping on Instagram and stuff, and then they come in here, and it all goes out the window, because it’s all about chemistry in the villa. You never know who’s going to get along with that.
‘You can predict it, but it wouldn’t really happen that way. You don’t know the chemistry, that’s the thing.
‘I think we always look for authenticity in the cast. This cast has an array of jobs. I mean, they’re a great lot. There are a lot of normal jobs.’
‘So, we have our opening lineup, and then we have bombshells who are waiting in the wings. We have to be reactive to what’s going on in the villa and who we think heads are going to turn for
‘We have in the region about 36 to 40 Islanders in total. So, we have a pool, we have a pool of people, and obviously, the pool is bigger than that.’
Several reality stars have been rumoured to enter the villa and follow in Joey Essex’s footsteps, but producers were quick to shut it down, adding it would ‘have to make sense’.
‘A few people might have said that they’re interested… but no. We’re pretty open-minded when it comes to casting; you never want to close anything off.
‘But it’s just getting the right person at the right moment. Joey was that person, and partly because his ex-girlfriend Grace had been cast, so it made sense. There was a reason it made sense.’
LOVE ISLAND 2026: MEET THE ISLANDERS
Jasmine
Age: 27
Job: Fashion Business Owner
From: Dubai (lives in London)
How do you plan to handle the competition? ‘Respectfully, what competition?’
Aidan
Age: 23
Job: Property Broker
From: Kent
His type on paper: ‘I wouldn’t say I have a strict type on paper. Personality is the most important thing for me.’
Lorenzo
Age: 28
Job: Business Owner
From: Hertfordshire
Are you here for the drama, or is finding love your only goal? ‘I think drama is fun! As long as no one is crying, all is fair in love and war. It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds…’
Sam
Age: 25
Job: Electrician
From: Dudley
How do you plan to handle the competition? ‘I’ve never really had to compete before, so it’ll be interesting. I know what I bring to the table, and I’m confident in what I have to offer.’
Samraj
Age: 25
Job: Model
From: Birmingham
What’s your relationship strategy? Go straight for the goal or play it safe? ‘Without sounding arrogant, in the outside world I don’t really chase that much, I’m used to girls coming to me.’
Sean
Age: 25
Job: Primary School Teacher
From: Galway
How do you plan to handle the competition? ‘If I see someone I like, I’m going for it and nothing’s gonna stop me.’
Ope
Age: 27
Job: West-End Performer
From: Lincolnshire
How do you handle the competition? ‘No one phases me. I’m so confident in my ability to just do my thing. I don’t get phased, I don’t get impersonated, I don’t get threatened.’
Mica
Age: 21
Job: Student
From: Barbados (lives in London)
Are you here for the drama, or is finding love your only goal? ‘I’ll dabble in both I feel. Obviously the whole point is finding love and that’s going to be my main goal. I’m not saying I’m going to start drama but if there is drama going on, I would obviously be a little bit nosey and want to know what’s going on.’
Lola
Age: 28
Job: Detective
From: Kent
If VAR reviewed your flirting game, what foul would earn you a red card? ‘I can be a bit of a brat, I get really hangry! If you just feed me, I’ll be alright.’
Angelista
Age: 24
Job: Nurse
From: Staffordshire
What kind of person are you hoping doesn’t walk through the villa door? ‘Someone who wants to be in everyone’s face all the time, centre of attention all the time, that’s an ick! Someone that’s obnoxious I don’t like.’
Ellie
Age: 24
Job: Real Estate Videographer
From: West Lothian
Her type on paper: ‘Simple… tall, dark and handsome. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. It’s a classic for a reason. Nice teeth, nice tattoos, partial to a blonde as well.’
Robyn
Age: 21
Job: Quantity Surveyor and DJ
From: Liverpool
In your love life to date, have you been a World Cup winner or knocked out in the first round? ‘I just feel like the right person hasn’t come yet. That’s the only reason I haven’t qualified, not because I can’t.
