Love Island's Callum hasn't told his mates he's going into the villa: 'Everyone’s expecting me on the building site'

Speaking to RadioTimes.com in South Africa, the 23-year-old scaffolder from Manchester admitted he only told one person aside from his family that he was leaving the building site to find love in the brand new Cape Town villa.

“I’ve only told one person, my supervisor, that I was leaving,” he said. “Everyone else was expecting me in. I was meant to come in on Monday.”

But it seems Callum’s colleagues may have had an inkling he was Cape Town-bound, as he previously told them he had applied for the show.

“I applied in the summer and they were like, how did you get on? So, I said I was just going to have to apply in the winter,” he explained. “And that’s probably as far as I’ve got to telling them. They’re always asking questions like, you going on it, you going on it? And I’m like, I don’t know!”

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But while Love Island can offer sometimes dizzying levels of fame and fortune, Callum is more than prepared to head back to the building site should the offers of parties and reality shows dry up.

Echoing series five star Sherif, Callum said: “It is what it is. I’m prepared for it. I’m not guaranteed money or fame, I could be back on the building site in two months’ time.

“But we’re all friends and they’d be happy for me if I left.

“I just want to get in there and have the experience of being in the villa. There’s no really big dream picture at the minute.”

Love Island launches Sunday 12th January at 9pm and continues weeknights and Sundays on ITV2