09 January 2023 , 08:06
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Love Island has confirmed the first contestant for the 2023 winter series, set to launch next week.
The ITV2 dating series dropped a bombshell on Monday morning, as they revealed one of the new cast members.
Tanya Manhenga, from Liverpool, was named as the first singleton looking for love in South Africa, where the winter edition of the hit show is filmed.
Getting fans ready for the winter edition that will launch very soon, the show dropped the first name on the line-up on their social media.
Biomedical science student Tanya, 22, is already a rising star on Instagram as she boasts more than 11,500 followers on the social media platform - and now she too is rumoured for the series.
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The student and influencer refers to herself as a 'digital creator' on her social media profile and has worked with a string of fashion brands including Boohoo as well as show brands Ego and Simmi Shoes.
Tanya Manhenga was named as the singleton looking for love in South Africa (ITV)
Love Island has confirmed the first contestant for the 2023 winter series (ITV)Speaking ahead of her villa debut, Tanya shared her Vitiligo diagnosis and opened up on looking for love.
She said: "I have Vitiligo, which is a skin pigmentation, you may not even notice it. It's on my lip and I have a stripe on my hair. Not many people know that but I think it’s quite cute. I don’t care about covering it up all the time, I think it’s a vibe."
Tanya added: "I’m looking for a boyfriend and I think being in a villa with lots of different people will help me work out who it is I may want."
New host Maya Jama will make her debut, after she replaced former presenter Laura Whitmore - with Laura quitting after the 2022 summer series.
Speaking ahead of her villa debut, Tanya shared her Vitiligo diagnosis (@talkswithtt_/Instagram)
Biomedical science student Tanya, 22, is already a rising star on Instagram (@talkswithtt_/Instagram)There's still several names needing to be revealed, while the rumour mill his been spinning for some time.
Finance worker Ron Hall is reportedly the series' first ever partially sighted contestant, with the 26-year-old tipped to join the line-up.
A source on the ITV2 show told The Sun: "The casting team are excited by the signing. It’s a really positive move to have more diversity on-screen, especially as there are so few blind people on telly.
"Ron is great guy, he’s got loads of mates and is sports mad, he loves golf and has recently taken up boxing. He’s keen to meet new people and, hopefully, find love.
"He’s also really open about his disability and is hoping to raise awareness and help others by discussing it on screen."
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New host Maya Jama will make her debut (ITV)Another rumoured contestant is model Chloe Baker. The TikTok star has modelled clothes for Missy Empire and Lipsy London, as well as fast-fashion brand PrettyLittleThing and has regularly been compared to former islander, Molly-Mae Hague.
Meanwhile, former contestant Arabella Chi is tipped to make a return to the island of love, after first appearing in 2019 - following last series' comeback of Adam Collard.
The former islander teased she may be returning for another chance at love in the South African villa. In a mysterious post, where the blonde beauty posed in a steamy swimsuit shot, Arabella teased that is set to make a TV comeback.
Love Island returns for its winter series on Monday January 16 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITV Hub.