All Stars or no stars? Love Island: All Stars 2026 review

Love Island is ‘the’ reality TV show.

Every summer (and now winter too), social media is abuzz with rumoured contestants and potential drama. And that’s before the show even starts as every Tom, Dick, and Harry share their opinions – good or bad. Even past islanders contribute their two cents, meaning one can’t help but feel for the isolated islanders waiting to enter the villa, unknowing of the thousands of people slandering their names before they’ve even appeared. For some, the prospect of Love Island and its internet discourse every night is what gets them through the dreary winter days – and I too, am one of those people.

What I think some viewers have forgotten, is that All Stars has been sought after for years. The comment section of every post was filled with suggestions of the ultimate islanders audiences wanted to see back on their screens. With this in mind, us viewers desired an All Stars series more desperately with every shabby series that followed Love Island’s pinnacle in Season Five, according to both viewership stats and major public opinion.

This series provided a stellar lineup with: past winners, Jess Harding and Millie Grace Court; previous finalists, Samie, Whitney, Ciaran, and Sean; and notable series characters, including ‘hideaway’ Helena, ‘I am what I am’ Belle, ‘REAAALLLLYY?’ Lucinda, straight-talker Scott, and samba-hips Curtis, who all made it in early on. Of course, the series was not without its ‘who on earth are they?’ contestants: Konnor, AJ, and Jack (to name a few). But with this seemingly perfect mix, what’s not to love?

However, the public are rarely pleased. The characters that returned were not considered ‘All Stars’ material. Too boring, too annoying, or simply, too recent. And then of course, are the contestants who have been on Love Island too much and thus know the ‘game’ rather than being there for the ‘right reasons’.

Lucinda and Scott received the latter criticism at every turn. However, as the breakout stars of their respective series, known for being incredibly messy and dramatic, we were all delighted to see them give the villa another shot.

The series provided a multitude of other love stories. Whitney and Yamen, Zac and Millie, and Samie and Ciaran, for the most part, all had smooth sailing journies with one another, leaving us viewers truly kicking our feet and desperately hoping that they can make the long-distance work. This is ultimately what we watch Love Island for, and for the first time in All Stars history, one felt that the finalists had real love for each other.

Drama was also certainly served up, namely Lucinda and Sean’s flirtatious chats whilst Belle was locked away with the American bombshells. Let it not be understated, ‘Hurricane belle’ provided the moments us viewers love the most: shock, tears, and a roaring argument (or rather monologue) of how she deserved better (she did). This episode was certainly one of the best of the series.

However, this series was filled with perhaps too much drama. Belle’s continued vendetta against Lucinda, whether warranted or not, coupled with Jessy’s (supposedly friendly) out-of-the-blue confrontation with Lucinda, lead to tears, more tears, arguments, and you guessed it, more tears. This led to Lucinda turning from the public’s villain to their darling. The borderline bullying was made palatable only by the genuinely lovely and supportive friendship Lucinda shared with Millie, who supported and protected her in some truly touching moments.

Having previous contestants does inevitability create a shroud of artificiality. They already know how the show operates, no longer blissfully innocent to the trappings of the production and the media storm. This led to islanders like Sean and Helena having a much tamer persona than their previous series, leading one to question whether they have changed as individuals or are simply returning to do damage control.

The islanders also all seem to know each other, either from meeting at events or sliding into each other’s DMs. This can provide iconic moments, with Georgia Harrison telling Casey she saw his dead grandma being one of the best TV moments in recent years. In this series, Jessy’s vendetta against Lucinda truly was something for the books.

However, it does dim the Love Island sparkle. This web of interconnectedness led to foiled romances and honestly, sometimes a bore fest. Plus, people know how to work the cameras. This self-aware and self-regulating return to the villa is not entertaining for the viewer, aside from the frequent breaking of the fourth wall. Scott’s iconic entrance where he slammed Sean for his behaviour in his series really was a jaw dropping moment, and not irregular for the All Stars series.

Villa USA was also a good substitute for the lack of Casa Amor in the All Stars series, providing the tense reunions we viewers craved, and the American bombshells provided new personalities for us to dive into. However, they weren’t fresh meat. People meeting each other for the first time, working out each other’s personalities as well as the show’s format is what makes the summer series outshine All Stars every time.

So, Love Island: All Stars Season Three proved a disappointment. It totally missed the sweet spot of drama, girlhood, and love that the summer series has, instead falling into a heap of sweaty islanders drenched with the ‘storm’ of, quite frankly, nastiness. And to top it all off, Samie and Ciaran were the boring winners. Leanne and Scott deserved that gold medal.