'Love Island' fans can't wait for series launch as hit show returns with snogs, toe sucking and ear licking

Love Island is set to make its long-awaited return for a summer series with possibly the raunchiest first episode ever - as the singles dive straight into snogs, toe-sucking and ear-licking challenges.

The ITV2 dating series has not run a summer series since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but finally returns to screens on Monday night and fans can't wait to meet this year's contestants.

Read more: How Love Island is guarding against a COVID outbreak

Islanders will waste no time getting to know each other as they're plunged straight into some seriously intimate tasks, which include one couple having to snog for 30 seconds, another contestant having to suck their partner's toes, and someone else being challenged to suck a partner's earlobes straight after meeting for the first time.

Kaz, Liberty, Sharon, Faye and Shannon are the first contestants to arrive at the villa and are joined by Jake, Aaron, Hugo, Toby and Brad for the icebreaker games.

But the ordeal won't end there for the first lot of singles to enter the 2021 villa, as the game of dares is interrupted by a voice note from Islander Chloe, who tells the boys she's outside the villa and wants one of them to join her for a date - who will take a chance on going to meet her?

Fans of the show have been looking forward to the series launch all day after it took a year off in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

One fan tweeted: "This is a #LoveIsland zone for the next 6-8 weeks ok! WW3 could be happening outside and imma still be tweeting about Love Island!"

Someone else wrote: "Right now the new islanders are already day 2 into the villa ugh I cannot control myself I wonder what they’re doing #LoveIsland"

Another fan added: "The only thing getting me through today is knowing at 9pm I’ll finally be hearing IVE GOT A TEXT and Iain Stirling voice for the next 6 weeks #LoveIsland"

Superfans Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield opened Monday's This Morning episode by dancing along to the theme tune, having previously said they'd been watching the Australian and US versions in anticipation of the UK show return.

Host Laura Whitmore has excitedly been counting down to launch day on Instagram and showed off the hair clip that she was wearing in tribute to one of Love Island's catchphrases which spelled out "My type on paper".

And previous winner Amber Gill tweeted: "I’m actually so excited to be able to watch the TL and memes whilst #LoveIsland is on."

The new series is set to begin at 9pm on ITV2.

Watch: Megan Barton-Hanson hopes Love Island contestants have sex