Ekin-Su Culculoglu could change the narrative (Picture: Shutterstock for Big Brother)
Love Island All Stars is returning for its second series with a whole host of recognisable faces giving reality TV romance a second go, and amongst the rumoured names is Ekin-Su Cülcüloglu.
The confirmed line-up currently consists of Curtis Pritchard of ‘I also want to be the person that gets up and makes everyone a coffee’ fame, exes Marcel Somerville and Gabby Allen, Towie star Elma Pazar, and Scott Thomas, who first looked for romance all the way back in series two. Joining them are Ronnie Vint, Olivia Hawkins, Catherine Agbaje, Nas Majeed, Kaz Crossley, India Reynolds and Luca Bish.
A key part of the ITV series’ concept is surprise bombshells drop into the show to challenge the connections of existing couples, or sweep the unattached off their feet. Ekin-Su was the ultimate bombshell back in 2022, and so naturally, she’s top of ITV’s list for a return.
The 30-year-old won the whole series with Davide Sanclimenti, and garnered an impressive four million Instagram followers, making her still the third most-followed Love Island star (behind Influencer-in-chief Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury).
Viewers fell in love with her quirky personality, which included doing impressions of Spongebob Squarepants as a flirting tactic, fiery arguments with Davide, and general hilariousness, but things couldn’t have gone more differently on Celebrity Big Brother. The reality star was the fourth housemate to be evicted, after some questionable choices in the house.
Heading to South Africa as a surprise arrival could be the perfect chance to change the narrative. (FYI when host Maya Jama was asked if speculation around Ekin-Su was true on This Morning, she didn’t deny.)
‘She wants to use this new stint on Love Island All Stars to redeem herself and remind the public why they love her,’ a source told The Sun.
So as Ekin-Su prepares to try find love (and more social media followers), here are the seven things she needs to do to have a true redemption arc…
Be her authentic self
Ekin-Su and Davide won Love Island together (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The ultimate game plan should be to remind viewers of why we loved her. Her first Love Island appearance led to an absolute landslide victory with a whopping 63.69% of the final vote. She’s done it once before, so theoretically Ekin-Su can do it again.
Things went wrong for her on Celebrity Big Brother when people began to question her authenticity. She cornered Fern Britton on the first night to ask her what the meaning of life was, and some wondered if she was doing purely for views. Of course, it’s a TV show so to a certain extent, everybody is doing most things for airtime, but it should feel slightly more organic to get viewers on side.
Create another sharable moment
The tricky world of TV means despite everything we just said, creating another water cooler moment would do Ekin-Su no harm.
When talking about the eighth series of Love Island, it was impossible to not say Ekin-Su’s name. She created practically all the viral moments from the series, most famously crawling to have a secret kiss with Jay Younger without then-current partner Davide seeing.
It will be hard after what happened on Celebrity Big Brother, but Ekin-Su should do as she pleases (within reason) as seemingly, within reason, that is where the magic happens!
Empower women
Ekin-Su could make sure she’s empowering other women where possible (Picture: Shutterstock for Big Brother)
On Big Brother, Ekin-Su made the mistake of sometimes appearing quite judgemental about women. ‘I’d rather have zero pounds than a million pounds doing it the wrong way, but have pride,’ she said, while talking about OnlyFans models.
Ultimately, it’s women who will elevate female reality stars to the next level – Molly-Mae has been able to cultivate a core audience of girls – who’ve ensured her star power continues to rise, so tearing down other women’s choices unnecessarily isn’t the best way to go about things. She should instead show her support for fellow female islanders. Yes, we know it’s Love Island, not Friend Island, but there’s no harm in forging platonic connections too.
Often, this is a chance for viewers to see a different side of a personality and can be just as marketable after exiting – just look at Chris Hughes and Kem Cetinay! And, it could fix some of the damage done on Celebrity Big Brother. She should try to embrace every women for who they are where possible!
Own any mistakes
Reflection is key (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock)
When being filmed 24/7, there’s always going to be something that audiences pick up on and criticise – this is the nature of reality TV, and being human. What’s important is how Ekin-Su deals with it afterwards.
Rather than blame the edit as she did after Celebrity Big Brother – an excuse viewers genuinely don’t believe – she should take a different approach. Ekin-Su could reflect on any mistakes, and own them, whether that be by expressing regret or taking a firm stance on being happy with choices that were made.
Also, Ekin-Su should remember that having some criticism isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
After her Celebrity Big Brother stint, Candid celebrity management and PR agency founder Dermot McNamara told Metro: ‘Her own fans love her and still will love her. The people who disliked her were often people who weren’t fans of her to begin with.
‘There’s also a highly profitable career in being a polarising figure, being “the villain”. It still brings attention, good, bad or indifferent.’
Choose the right partner or leave
Ekin-Su and Davide matched each other’s energy (Credits: Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
To make it to the final, she needs to pick someone who can also bring the same energy that she always does. Davide was an equal match in any bickers, and their fiery relationship captured our interest. Who can forget when Davide said Ekin-Su was ‘as fake as Louis Vuitton from China’.
Importantly the pair always had love at its core, and provided some swoony-worthy moments from Davide’s epic tiramisu to propose they became official to their final date in a candlelit amphitheater with Alfie Boe on vocals.
If someone can’t equal her incredible spirit, then she doesn’t have to force it. There is power in leaving the series if nobody is for you, and it can provide just as much of a talking point as romance. Both Amy Hart and Libby Poole were applauded for leaving early when things weren’t working out.
Appreciate the journey
She could be positive about Love Island in interviews (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Without Love Island, Ekin-Su may not have reached this level of fame. The Turkish soap opera actress became known to a UK audience due to the appearance.
On Celebrity Big Brother, she seemed to want to distance herself from the show, even getting snappy at Coronation Street star Colson Smith when he compared the two processes. This is understandable when Love Island is associated with Davide for her, but now will be a chance to make new happy memories.
It will be hard for Ekin-Su to distance herself from Love Island, while being on *checks note* Love Island, so that shouldn’t be a problem. She should feel proud of where it’s led her, and embrace everything the experience flings at her. In post-show interviews, Ekin-Su could try to speak honestly, but fondly where possible, of her time.
Choose opportunities wisely
Ekin-Su could experience the same level of interest again (Picture: Ekinsuofficial/Instagram)
When leaving the villa, if things have gone well, she will be inundated with offers again.
After her last exit a BPerfect Cosmetics beauty line, an Oh Polly collaboration, and a spin on Dancing on Ice all happened in quick succession, and so she was stretched thin. It also meant she was perhaps overwhelming her audience with constant sponsored posts and asking for votes. This time, she could make more considered decisions that feel right and allow her fans to not feel bombarded.
Love Island All Stars begins on Monday January 13 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
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