Love Island's Georgia Steel needs to be celebrated – no, really
Love Island: All Stars has not exactly been a hit. After a promising start, there have been disappointing bombshells, formulaic challenges and too many exes appearing in the villa. Fans have continued to switch off, leading to all-time-low viewing figures.
But one islander has managed to keep people talking all series – Georgia Steel.
The reality star appeared on the fourth season of the show back in 2018, and is one of the contestants who genuinely could be considered a ‘star’. She is responsible for one of the most memorable Casa Amor moments in her defiant reaction to her partner Josh recoupling, and then of course there's her iconic catchphrase, "I’m loyal, babe".
Let’s be real – Georgia’s actions in this series have been wild. She came into the villa and almost immediately picked up where she left off with Toby, with whom she had a brief history after they appeared on the unacknowledged Love Island Games together.
However, they soon ended things after Toby’s eye wandered, and Georgia started up something new with Callum, who is not long out of a three-year relationship with fellow contestant Molly. Things seemed to be going well, until Tom entered as a bombshell – someone Georgia also has a past with.
Georgia sent mixed signals to her love interests, telling Tom that she fancied him the most, shortly before telling Callum there was no one she’d rather be with during their night in the hideaway.
Then to add more confusion to the mix, Toby decided to go rogue and choose Georgia at the latest recoupling, with a confused Georgia prioritising their apparently deep history over her current pairing with Callum.
This was all exposed in last night’s episode (February 4) at the show’s PDA Awards where clips from the series were shown to the islanders in what was arguably the best episode of the season so far. But the drama-filled instalment did highlight an interesting double standard in the show.
While we’re not condoning what Georgia has done during the series, Toby’s chaotic behaviour, including how he completely blindsided Arabella at the last recoupling, seems to have been swept under the carpet in comparison.
Plus, the other boys have hardly been angels themselves. Chris, for example, came into the villa as a lovable rogue, with viewers thrilled that most of the girls fancied him on day one – redemption for his unsuccessful first series.
But he has seemed to let this newfound popularity go to his head, often changing his mind about his feelings and thinking every new girl who walks in is the next love of his life.
In the last few weeks he has kissed Molly, got close with Arabella before holding hands with Sophie in front of her, and has now fallen head over heels for Joanna (who has a growing connection with Josh anyway).
Chris’s fun-loving character means his indecisiveness and lack of care for the girls has not been picked up on as much as it should – and certainly not as much as Georgia’s behaviour has.
Then of course there’s Mitch, who was dumped from the villa last week after continuing the antics that made him famous last year by playing with Liberty’s heart. He has quite literally branded himself ‘Messy Mitch’, turning his problematic behaviour into a bit of fun rather than something to be talked about seriously. Georgia, by contrast, doesn't have a nickname to hide behind.
Georgia was very rightfully called out on awards night, and it made for a great hour of television, but it almost feels like the producers went too far.
In seasons gone by, viewers counted down the days until movie night to see the questionable actions of male islanders get exposed. But when the main event finally comes around, the takeaway is usually that they’ve got off lightly, with some of the most damning clips held back from their unsuspecting partners.
But now that Love Island has a female ‘villain’, the producers have seemed to double down on this persona, with the entire awards ceremony built around her behaviour being aired to the group.
Everything Georgia has done is now out in the open, and while she perhaps only has herself to blame, that is a lot for one person to have to deal with.
The fallout in the villa will be interesting to watch, but even more interesting will be the response when Georgia eventually leaves the villa. As per usual nowadays, actions within the confines of a reality show have translated to online hate, with her Instagram comments being turned off by whoever is currently manning her account.
Once again, viewers need to remember that while she may be a villain in the show, in the real world she is just a 25-year-old woman.
Regardless of your thoughts on Georgia, she has undoubtedly been the main character in what has otherwise been a boring All Stars series. She has been at the centre of most of the drama, and is likely to continue providing entertainment for the last two weeks of the spin-off, or however long she stays in.
Love her or hate her, Georgia is certainly living up to her ‘all star’ title – and isn’t that what we wanted?
Love Island: All Stars airs at 9pm on ITV2, ITVX & STV.
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