Yahoo News Love Island fans convinced they've worked out why Joey Essex is in ITV villa
Viewers have accused the TV star of 'stirring'
What did you miss?
Love Island viewers have claimed Joey Essex was sent into the villa to "cause chaos" after one of his suggestions prompted a huge row.
The Towie star, who is the ITV show's first celebrity bombshell, has said he is on the programme to find true love. But some fans weren't quite so sure after Friday night's instalment (June 7), which saw Joey wade into the love triangle between Harriet Blackmore, Nicole Samuel and Ciaran Davies.
Tension had been flaring between the trio, because although Ciaran was with Harriet he had admitted he liked both contestants.
What, how and why?
In Friday's instalment, Harriet was chatting to Joey and he decided to cut to the chase by calling Ciaran over and asking him who he liked best. Looking flustered, Ciaran admitted he preferred Nicole. It left Harriet in floods of tears and raging at Nicole: "You can have him... Go on have him! Take him!"
Joey walked away unscathed, but plenty of viewers then accused him of bringing all of his reality TV experience to the villa and "stirring" things up.
"Joey is a plant from ITV omg the chaos," said one person on X. "He stirred trouble without getting his hand dirty," commented someone else, as another wrote: "Joey has definitely been sent in to cause drama."
Someone else insisted: "Joey is not here for love. He’s here to cause chaos." "Joey is deliberately stirring the pot because he knows how reality TV works," another fan posted. "He knows how to bring drama."
"Joey is being very sneaky, they sent him into the villa to be an agent of chaos," remarked another viewer. One said: "Joey in the kitchen eating crisps while Ciaran and Harriet are fighting over something he caused. A reality TV veteran fr."
One wrote: "Joey was sent to start drama and ruin relationships. 'Here to find a wife'."
However, others disagreed, with one posting: "Am I the only one who thinks what Joey just did is the opposite of messy? There was no stirring, no speculation, just facts. He stopped the drama spiralling and actually really calmed Harriet because he made it not a big deal."
What has Joey Essex said about going on Love Island?
TV star Joey has been on several reality shows, including Dancing On Ice, Splash!, The Jump, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Ex On The Beach. But before he headed to the villa in Majorca, he told The Sun that he had signed up for the dating programme in a bid to find his Mrs Right.
"I’m extremely single right now, so I’m praying that I’m going to walk out of the villa hand in hand with the love of my life," said the star. "That’s my main aim and all I care about."
“It’s difficult for me to meet girls as they judge me based on a persona so I think this experience will allow people to see the real me.”
