Love Islander says she avoided watching ex-boyfriend Owen Warner on I’m A Celeb

Love Islander Lana Jenkins has admitted she avoided watching ex-boyfriend Owen Warner during his time on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

The 25-year-old celebrity make-up artist from Luton is one of 10 islanders preparing to enter the villa in South Africa for the new winter series of the ITV2 reality show.

Reflecting on her relationship with Hollyoaks actor Warner, 23, who came second on I’m A Celebrity in November, Lana said: “We had a lovely relationship. We had a bit of a lockdown relationship, so we spent a lot of time together.

“And then when we ended, we ended amicably, so I have nothing bad to say in terms of our relationship and the time that we spent together.

“I watched the (I’m A Celebrity) final and that was it because, obviously he got to the final, so that was amazing, and I thought I’d watch it out of support.

“But I just thought it’s a bit weird to watch your ex for an hour on telly every evening, so I didn’t bother.

“But I did send him a message when he got out and was like, ‘Well done. That’s amazing that you came runner up’. So it was nice.”

Lana, who was an extra in sitcom Benidorm when she was six, also revealed that her work as a make-up artist to the stars means she has crossed paths with a number of famous faces including actress Michelle Keegan.

She added that the former Coronation Street star “is an absolute dream to work with”.

“She is gorgeous. She’s like a real-life Disney princess. She’s such a amazing person inside and out.”

Another new islander, Tanya Manhenga, a biomedical sciences student from Liverpool, said that despite her science background she is happy to “go with the flow” of conversation in the villa.

“I’m very catering to what’s going on,” she said.

“So if people want to talk about fun stuff, we can talk about fun stuff. But if someone brings up something serious we can talk about something serious.

“I’m just going with flow, so I wouldn’t mind.”

Tanya said she has tried to prepare for a mixed public reaction during her time on the show: “You never know how people are going to perceive you, whether people will like you or not like you for no reason.

“So I’ve always got it in the back of my head that there’s going to be people who don’t like me or who aren’t fond of me. But I don’t think you can ever fully prepare for something like that until you fully experience it.

“But I’m just going in with positive vibes and being myself as it’s all I can be, and if people don’t like it then I can’t do anything about that.”

The new islanders are set to enter the Love Island villa in South Africa on January 16 as new host Maya Jama takes over from Laura Whitmore, who announced she was stepping down in August.

The new series is the show’s first winter series since before the coronavirus pandemic.

New additions also include Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson and Indiyah Polack, who was a finalist on the show last year, who are joining as regular panellists on Love Island’s Aftersun programme.

Love Island returns on Monday January 16 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.