Love Island South Africa Villa Will Be Patrolled By Armed Guards Amid Fears Contestants Will Be Kidnapped
6 January 2020, 10:54
The winter Love Island villa will reportedly have the highest security measures, involving armed guards patrolling the premises.
Love Island 2020 kicks off on 12 January with a brand new cast for the winter series in South Africa, but the security levels this time around will be much higher than previous series.
The winter edition of the ITV2 show takes place in Cape Town, which is said to be the 11th deadliest city due to its murder rate, so producers have apparently hired armed guards to patrol around the huge new villa.
An insider told the Daily Star: “Producers aren’t taking any chances. It’s been arranged for armed guards to patrol the compound throughout the series.
“They will have them surrounding the area so there is no chance of any breaches.”
In the meantime, the production team has kept a low profile since arriving and setting up.
The source continued: “If it’s known to everyone in the area that a big TV show is in town, then it will become a target.
"There are concerns there could be kidnap attempts if things aren’t done carefully.”
The islanders have also been given extensive security briefings before flying into the city and production staff have had training about how to cope with a security issue.
Laura Whitmore is taking over from Caroline Flack for the winter series, after the original host stepped down following her arrest in December.
The Irish TV star posted a photo of herself packing for her new hosting gig less than a week before the start date, revealing her iconic personalised suitcase and array of sunglasses on Instagram.
Laura will be joining her boyfriend Iain Stirling on the show, as he has famously narrated the series for five years.
The new islanders are yet to be announced, but there are plenty of rumoured contestants in the pipe-line, including Rochelle Humes’ little sister and TOWIE star Pete Wicks’ best friend.
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