Joey Essex begged ITV bosses to join Love Island – but viewers are fuming millionaire star got Sam axed

ok.co.uk:

Following his arrival on the show on Monday 3 June, Love Island ’s surprise celebrity bombshell Joey Essex has spoken out about how he approached the show’s bosses for a chance to find love on the dating series.

Speaking about his stint on the latest series, Joey said: "I’ve always wanted to go on Love Island and I’ve known Mike Spencer (Love Island Creative Director) since the very first day I started my journey into TV on The Only Way Is Essex.” "Myself and my cousin Chloe [Sims] think really highly of Mike and it’s almost as if we’ve been on this journey together because when I think back to my first memories of being on TV, Mike was always around and there to support us,” he continued. "It felt like the right time to give the villa a shot, so I called Mike to ask him if I could apply and he said go for it," he told The Sun. "Mike’s a creative genius and has thought of a way to bring me into the mix and personally I think it’s the greatest stunt that Love Island has ever pulled." To preserve the surprise, Joey flew to Ibiza before Love Island’s launch night, and was then transported by boat to Majorca wearing a face mask so no one spotted him.

However, his addition to the show has caused some friction at the villa, and anger amongst fans after the former TOWIE star’s arrival meant that one of the original contestants had to leave.

On the show on Tuesday 4 June, Joey had to decide which girl to couple up with and he chose Samantha, meaning that her partner Sam Taylor was now single and therefore dumped from the villa.