Love Island unknowns outshine influencers in growth

Kolsquare has published an analysis of Love Island contestants' social media growth and creator value, finding that contestants who entered the programme with small followings often recorded the biggest gains.

The data looked at pre-show follower counts, current Instagram and TikTok audiences, and Earned Media Value across 20 current and former contestants. It compared 10 people who started as relative unknowns with 10 who already had strong social media audiences before appearing on the ITV dating show.

The findings come as Love Island faces scrutiny over its casting. Peak audience figures for the final have fallen from about 3.7 million viewers in 2019 to roughly 700,000 this year, prompting criticism that the format has become too dependent on contestants who already have online fame.

Kolsquare's figures suggest viewers still respond most strongly to contestants they discover on screen rather than those who arrive with established fan bases. Several of the biggest percentage gains in Instagram and TikTok followers came from islanders who started with only a few hundred or a few thousand followers.

Unknown entrants

Camilla Thurlow was one of the clearest examples. She entered the villa in 2017 with about 200 to 300 Instagram followers and now has more than 1.4 million, representing growth of well over 450,000%.

Dr Alex George also featured prominently. He entered the show as an NHS doctor with around 6,000 Instagram followers and has since built an audience of more than 2.2 million, a rise of more than 36,500%.

Whitney Adebayo, who appeared in 2023, started with around 1,700 Instagram followers. She now has more than 760,000 Instagram followers and 556,000 TikTok followers, equating to Instagram growth of about 44,600%.

Chloe Burrows entered the programme with around 11,500 Instagram followers. Her audience has since grown to 1.79 million on Instagram and 1.4 million on TikTok, placing her among the show's biggest creator success stories.

Established names

By contrast, contestants who arrived with large audiences already in place often posted lower percentage growth. Joey Essex was the most notable example.

He joined Love Island in 2024 with around 1.8 million Instagram followers and now has about 1.89 million, amounting to growth of roughly 5%. This was the lowest growth rate among the 10 established influencers in the analysis.

Other contestants entered with substantial online profiles and still expanded after appearing on the show. Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu began with around 350,000 Instagram followers and saw that audience grow by 1,109%, while Tommy Fury started with 173,000 and recorded growth of 2,900%.

Gemma Owen's Instagram following grew by 3,807%, according to the data. Molly Marsh entered the villa with 26,000 Instagram followers and 650,000 TikTok followers, and her Instagram audience later increased by 2,147%.

The study argues that arriving with a built-in audience does not automatically lead to the strongest creator influence. Kolsquare used Earned Media Value, or EMV, to estimate the value generated through creator content and engagement on Instagram and TikTok during the study period.

Commercial value

On that measure, Tommy Fury ranked first among the contestants reviewed. He generated GBP £14.8 million in Instagram EMV and GBP £126,000 in TikTok EMV.

Chloe Burrows generated about GBP £3.23 million in Instagram EMV and around GBP £176,000 in TikTok EMV. Whitney Adebayo generated almost GBP £1 million in Instagram EMV and around GBP £370,000 in TikTok EMV.

Joey Essex's EMV was far lower despite his pre-existing reach. His figure was GBP £21.2K, ranking him seventh among the 10 contestants in the established-following group on EMV.

The analysis also found that eight contestants classified as unknown before entering the villa now have a higher EMV than Essex. The result points to a gap between headline follower numbers and the value of engagement generated after appearing on the programme.

Alicia Van Der Meer, UK marketing lead at Kolsquare, commented on the findings: "There has been a lot of debate this year about whether Love Island has become too focused on casting influencers. While our research can't explain the fall in viewing figures, it does suggest something fascinating: that the contestants who experience the biggest audience growth are the people viewers discover for themselves.

Some of Love Island's biggest creator success stories started with just a few hundred followers before entering the villa. Audiences don't just want to follow already famous people; they enjoy being part of someone's journey and helping create the next big star."

She added a broader point for marketers assessing talent beyond audience size alone: "For brands, it's another reminder that follower numbers only tell part of the story. Creator value comes from authentic audience connections and engagement, not arriving with the biggest platform."

The methodology covered EMV figures measured between 01 June and 30 July 2026 and assessed value generated through content and engagement across Instagram and TikTok.