Anticipation is building as a new series of Love Island begins tonight, with two of Oxfordshire's own set to steal the show.

Chloe Burrows, a 25-year-old financial services marketing executive from Bicester, and civil servant Sharon Gaffka, 25, from Didcot, will have their television debut at 9pm.

The ITV2 series sees a group of young singletons living together under the roof of a luxury villa abroad - this year, the show will be set against the backdrop of sunny Mallorca.

READ MORE: Love Island line-up 2021 - Two contestants from Didcot and Bicester

Laura Whitmore will return as the host of the popular reality series. It will be the first time the ITV programme has aired since last year’s summer series was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Asked why she wanted to take part in Love Island this year, beauty queen Ms Gaffka told the Press Association: “It’s been a bit of a running joke between my friendship group for a while that I should apply, probably because I’m the most outrageous one out of the group."

And Ms Burrows, who describes herself as 'quite loud', said she wanted to find a funny and caring partner in the villa.

She said: “Because I am quite a big character and quite loud, they would have to be as loud, if not more.”

Joining the Oxfordshire duo in this year's cast is a semi-professional footballer, a model and a luxury event host.

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