Entertainment

Love Island USA host offers update on show’s Las Vegas coronavirus ‘bubble’

The American version will air on ITV2 after the UK series was cancelled.
The American version will air on ITV2 after the UK series was cancelled. The American version will air on ITV2 after the UK series was cancelled.

Nothing is slipping through the cracks on the set of Love Island USA, according to its host Arielle Vandenberg.

The popular dating show’s second American series is taking place inside a villa atop The Cromwell hotel in Las Vegas instead of its usual island location of Fiji due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Actress and model Vandenberg said the contestants, presenters and crew had quarantined “for weeks” ahead of filming and had received “multiple” tests for the virus.

Speaking during an online Q&A, the 33-year-old said: “Definitely it is different but we are making it happen.

“It’s been so incredible that we are actually able to do this.

“We have all been quarantining for weeks and have had multiple Covid tests, and literally nothing is slipping through the cracks here.

“We are in a Love Island bubble and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Love Island USA will air on ITV2 from this month after both the summer and winter series of Love Island UK were cancelled amid uncertainty surrounding Covid-19.

However, ITV bosses have said the show will return for an “extended run” next summer.

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The American version is going ahead with increased measures to combat the spread of coronavirus on set.

Vandenberg, who will be joined by narrator Matthew Hoffman for the second series, said the show’s location brought a new energy to the show.

She added: “Don’t get me wrong, Fiji was amazing, but it’s really cool having this show set in Vegas because Vegas, we all know, has this energy about it.

“Even when you are not there you know it has an energy. And then you get here and you are like ‘Oh my gosh’. It is electric.

“We have the most epic villa. They created this house on top of the hotel and it is so beautiful.

“You have this awesome view of the Las Vegas strip and it brings a whole new light and energy to the show.

“Obviously it is so beautiful in Fiji but this looks so good.”

Like the UK version of the show, the villa features a hideaway, where couples can spend time alone together, a firepit and a sizeable pool.

Love Island USA begins at 9pm on ITV2 on Monday September 7.