Curtis Pritchard has been an unexpected stand-out contestant of Love Island All Stars, and even though he didn’t win the series, he got something arguably greater… redemption.
In last night’s finale, Casey O’Gorman and Gabby Allen became the second set of Love Island: All Stars champions, with Luca Bish and Grace Jackson just missing out on the £50,000.
Just on their tails was Curtis and his new girlfriend Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu. They may have taken bronze, but the pair were a highlight of the show – even host Maya Jama thanked them for carrying the drama on their backs.
Last month, dancer Curtis entered the ITV show’s villa for a third time to once again find a romantic connection and perhaps further public support. Unfortunately, fans were vocal about not wanting to see the 29-year-old trying to find love in South Africa.
‘Curtis Pritchard back nightly on ITV2 to serve morning coffee,’ SuperTV247 posted alongside a GIF of a woman dropping her head in expiration.
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The post summarised how a lot of people felt about his return. People likely came to feel this way as in 2019 Curtis had a divisive reaction to his initial stint.
After initially connecting with ‘half girlfriend’ Amy Hart, he explored another connection with Jourdan Riane during a Casa Amor twist. When they reunited, the pair had much to discuss and their conversation became one of the most famous interactions to arise from the show.
‘I was coming back here to tell you I loved you,’ Amy, 32, angrily confessed.
When Amy brought up that Curtis didn’t often cuddle her in bed, he replied: ‘I also want to be the person that gets up and makes everyone a coffee so everyone is ready for the morning.’ Amy was so heartbroken about their split that she left early.
In addition, he was famous for his bad advice, such as encouraging Jordan Hames to speak with India Reynolds despite him being in a relationship with Anna Vakili.
Curtis recoupled with Maura Higgins, and they finished in fourth place, likely due to her popularity, rather than his.
Back in the real world, Curtis has probably been best known for asking ‘How’s Trish?’ on Hollyoaks. His acting abilities were the subject of widespread criticism and spawned many memes.
He also made a brief return to the Love Island franchise for Love Island Games in 2023 but failed to make it past six days.
However, this time Curtis has been able to become more than just a few viral quotes. He has found a girlfriend in Love Island legend Ekin-Su (who’s been on a journey of redemption too), and they’ve entertained viewers with their ups and downs, lefts and rights.
From Curtis comparing Ekin-Su to being layered like an onion (someone has been enjoying Shrek’s arrival on Netflix) and his unique ‘hip hop’ moves, viewers have been thoroughly entranced. In one episode, he had an argument with Ekin-Su that turned into a passionate kiss – it wouldn’t have looked out of place on a telenovela and fans were loving the absurdity.
When Ekin-Su, 30, or himself have been criticised, Curtis has calmly defended them. Not even when Elma Pazar told him to ‘f**k off mate’ during a chat about his compatibility with Ekin-Su or every islander laughing at him saying ‘no s**t Sherlock’ in the same altercation, could get an angered reaction out of Curtis.
Elma shouting ‘Go make a f***ing coffee,’ simply led to a passionate head shake.
His way of dealing with the process has been met with praise and allowed for a full public image transformation from any previous indiscretions. Some fans were even in disbelief at how they’re now standing ten toes behind Curtis.
‘I can’t believe I’m voting for Curtis Pritchard to win Love Island,’ wrote X account SuperTV247 (the same account that didn’t want to watch him every night).
‘Never did I ever think I would be backing Curtis Pritchard. But here we are,’ echoed Ghwillzy.
‘Ekin and Curtis, unusual, corky, weird, nobody believed in them but they believed in what they share and have won us over,’ said ___Taurean___.
Margjacquieline said: ‘Ekin & Curtis deserve to be on Glee written by Ryan Murphy. I love them they’re insane.’
Even Love Island voiceover Iain Stirling has put his support behind the pair, previously sharing his hopes that they’d be victorious.
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‘I always felt like Ekin and Curtis were the uncool school kids – an emotion that I am incredibly familiar with from all of my childhood,’ he explained on Lorraine.
‘So I always had a little inking towards them. And I think the public is starting to get that vibe as well so maybe Curtis and Ekin-Su could take the title.’
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Love Island: All Stars final airs tonight on ITV2 at 9pm
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