Love Island champion Jess Harding has harshly criticized her former partner Sammy Root’s performance on All Stars as she prepares for her own appearance on the ITV2 series. The 25-year-old was set to join the South African villa this week for the show’s premiere on Monday, but ITV announced a postponement due to local wildfires.
Although ITV has not specified the return date for All Stars, Jess will participate alongside other stars like Whitney Adebayo, Millie Court, Ciaran Davies, and Shaq Muhammad. Following her previous victory on Love Island in 2023 with Sammy before their subsequent breakup, Jess is now set to follow in his footsteps on All Stars.
Sammy, who participated in the second series of All Stars and finished fifth with Elma Pazar, later split up with Elma just four months after the show, with the breakup aired on TOWIE.
In an interview with The Sun, Jess expressed her views on Sammy’s behavior on All Stars, stating that he seemed overly attached to Elma and did not explore other options as he did when they were together. She mentioned feeling that transparency was lacking in her previous experience on Love Island and noted Sammy’s different approach on All Stars.
Jess also mentioned that she harbors no ill feelings towards Sammy or any members of the 2023 cast and stated that she would not object to Sammy re-entering the villa.
The launch of All Stars, which was scheduled for the following day with Maya Jama returning to the show, was postponed by ITV due to the wildfires in South Africa. A source indicated that the crew’s well-being was a top priority, and measures were in place to ensure their support and safety during the situation.
ITV later released a statement confirming the delay in filming for All Stars due to the ongoing wildfires, emphasizing that health and safety considerations take precedence. The transmission of Love Island: All Stars will be rescheduled to a later date.
Love Island: All Stars is expected to air later this year on ITV2 and ITVX.