Curtis Pritchard has declared himself ‘Speedo body ready’ as he returns to the Love Island villa after being cruelly fat-shamed during his last stint on the dating show.
The professional dancer, who finished the show in fourth place alongside Maura Higgins, was hounded by trolls in 2019. Curtis, 28, found himself on the receiving end of backlash, not only for dumping then girlfriend Amy Hart, but for apparently gaining weight during his eight weeks in the villa that's renowned for its statuesque contestants. Unflattering before and after photos of Curtis were splashed across social media as trolls claimed he no longer resembled the buff six-pack sporting hunk in his promotional shots.
After being announced as one of 12 ex islanders returning to the ITVX dating show this January, Curtis says: "I've been hitting the gym as much as I possibly can.
“I did get fat-shamed in there. But you know what? I was on holiday. So when we're on holiday let's be honest we love to eat food, we love to relax and enjoy ourselves. I do that every time I'm away. I love my food. Maybe I enjoyed myself a little bit too much and ate a bit too much cheesecake.”
After leaving the villa with model Maura, who is now dating Strictly Come Dancing’s Pete Wicks, Curtis became the first Love Islander to land a deal with Weight Watchers and went on to lose 21lbs.
Curtis is now returning to the show with a new outlook - and a bold new look. The star has shaved his hair, ramped up his skincare routine ('I'm using an enzyme cleanser and splash of retinol') and is proudly showing off the results of hours spent in the gym and dancing on stage as part of a recent tour with older brother AJ Pritchard, former Strictly professional.
During his first stint in the villa, Curtis stripped off for his co-stars as part of the infamous 'heart rate challenge which sees islanders don skimpy costumes and perform sexy dance moves in a bid to raise each other's pulses. Clad in a pair of tiny purple shorts and a feathered headdress, at the time Curtis was cruelly compared to lemur King Julien from children’s movie Madagascar.
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ITV)Image:
Screen grab)"I went into it all guns blazing," said Curtis, unaware of the backlash he was receiving on the outside. "I will stay open-minded to things second time round. I think the best way to take Love Island is just go with the flow and not close the door to anything. This time I’ll be less King Julien and more Magic Mike. Give me Ginuwine’s Pony to dance to," he teased. "I'll be Speedo body ready.
"I still love my food. I'm a big foodie so no doubt I'll probably put a little bit of weight on this time as well. Actually they probably won't bring cheesecake into the villa because they know how much I ate last time," he joked.
"I'm excited to get in there now and hopefully find someone. I'm in a different position in my life. There's no game plan. I just want to have fun."
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Internet Unknown)Recalling leaving the villa with Maura in 2019, Curtis said: "Last time I didn’t how far I'd make it. I thought possibly I'd be out in two weeks and nothing would come of it and I somehow ended up in the final. "
Maura is said to have a pact with her other Love Island ex Chris Taylor that bans them from speaking about each other, but Curtis says he and the Irish bombshell have no agreement.
"Maura and I haven't spoken in a long time really. If she has a deal like that with Chris then that's what she has."
The pair did come face to face on Love Island The Games, when Curtis was a newly evicted islander and Maura was working as a presenter on the spin-off. Curtis insists the scenes were not as toe-curling as they appeared on camera: "It didn’t find it that awkward to be fair. I can talk to everybody and anybody."
The pair didn't continue speaking after the cameras stopped rolling, Curtis said: "Everything’s so full on with these shows so you never get time to do anything really. You've got your chaperone with you and it's ‘Oh, off you go off you go’, There was no time for anything."
Curtis say he is also no longer in touch with his first Love Island ex Amy Hart, who tied the knot last year with partner Sam.
"We were slightly speaking but not now as she's doing loads. Congratulations to her on everything she's doing. She's got a little kid and everything now hasn't she? She she's doing great. "
Love Island All Stars starts Monday, 13th January at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX
English (US) ·