Love Island series 11 launch is a success with 2.2million viewers - beating most recent summer AND winter debuts
Love Island's series 11 launch has proven a success for ITV as a peak of 2.2million people tuned in to watch the first episode on Monday night.
The debut episode, which saw TOWIE star Joey Essex enter as a surprise bombshell, averaged 1.9million across all devices.
It marks a jump of 700,000 from last year's summer series which debuted to 1.5million viewers while the winter 2024 series launch was watched by 1.9million.
Monday's episode marks the show’s highest launch audience since Summer 2022 which drew in 2.4million.
With 400k and a 36% share of 16-34s, the show commanded the highest audience of the day in this demographic.
Love Island's series 11 launch has proven a success for ITV as a peak of 2.2million people tuned in to watch the first episode on Monday night
The debut episode, which saw TOWIE star Joey Essex enter as a surprise bombshell, averaged 1.9million across all devices
Looking at past years, 2021's launch show raked in 2.47million TV viewers and peaked with 2.9million.
The 2019 summer series was the most watched launch ever with an audience of 3.3million tuning in.
Series nine's debut episode also didn't prove as popular as the first ever winter version of the ITV2 dating show, which scored 1.3million viewers more.
The 2020 winter series debut secured 2.5million viewers, with 43 per cent of the audience being aged between 16 and 34, according to overnight figures at the time. This rose to 2.8 million when non-TV devices were included in the figures.
It comes after viewers were left shocked at the end of the launch episode as Joey Essex entered the villa as a bombshell.
MailOnline revealed that bosses took 'every precaution' to keep Joey's entry into the villa a secret.
While the rest of the singletons were flown out to Mallorca, the reality star was forced to travel by ferry to keep his appearance under wraps.
Joey's arrival was unveiled in the final moments of Monday's launch show, with host Maya Jama confirming he would be arriving to shake up the six couples.
It marks a jump of 700,000 from last year's summer series which debuted to 1.5million viewers while the winter 2024 series launch was watched by 1.9million
Monday's episode marks the show’s highest launch audience since Summer 2022 which drew in 2.4million
Joey has become the first ever celebrity to enter the Love Island villa, after bosses took 'every precaution' to keep his entry a secret
Joey first to fame as one of the stars of the first series of The Only Way Is Essex back in 2010
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Ahead of making his way to Mallorca, Joey told The Sun: 'I feel like Joey Bond, 'the names Essex, Joey Essex. It felt like a military operation, not even the journey itself but the process of even getting through the application process and to this point.
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'I'm extremely single right now, so I'm praying that I'm going to walk out of the villa hand in hand with the love of my life, that's my main aim and all I care about.'
Joey is no stranger to causing drama with his love life, and was previously engaged to Sam Faiers on TOWIE, before leaving the show after they split.
In 2013, he formed a close bond with Amy Willerton while they appeared on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! but things fizzled out after they left the jungle.
He then went onto date The Hills star Stephanie Pratt after their stint on Celebs Go Dating in 2017, but their relationship only lasted three months.
Joey's most recent romance came during his stint on Dancing On Ice in 2023, when rumours swirled that he was dating his professional skating partner Vanessa Bauer.
But just a day after Vanessa confirmed that they were dating, MailOnline confirmed that they had gone their separate ways.
Love Island airs nightly on ITV2 and ITVX at 9pm.