A new start date for the upcoming series of Love Island All Stars has finally been confirmed by Virgin Media Ireland after the original launch date had to be pushed back due to wildfires in South Africa.

Love Island All Stars villa(Image: ITV)

Love Island has finally announced when the new series All Stars will kick off – after the show had to be delayed and filming postponed due to wildfires in South Africa, where the series is filmed.

ITV revealed at the weekend that All Stars would not be launching on Monday as planned due to safety concerns over the local wildfires.

A spokesperson said at the time: “Further to a production evacuation owing to ongoing wildfires in the area, our assessment of the location site has concluded that filming will need to be postponed.

“Health and safety is our greatest priority and will always come first, and therefore the transmission of Love Island: All Stars will be delayed until a date to be confirmed.”

Now, Virgin Media Ireland – who will air the show for Irish viewers- has confirmed All Stars’ new start date, and fans won’t have long to wait.

The broadcaster confirmed: “The wait is over… Love Island: All Stars launches tomorrow night (Thursday, January 15) at 9pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media Two. Plus, for the first time ever, there’ll be an extra full episode on Saturday night (Jan 17) at 9pm, too.”

Meanwhile, Maya Jama also shared the news on the Love Island Instagram. “I’ve got some very exciting news,” she said. “I can officially announce exclusively that we are back up and running. Yeah!

“I’m obviously in glam, I’m going to go to the villa and start filming in a minute. And you can watch us on ITV2 (Virgin Media Two in Ireland) tomorrow night at 9pm. Love Island: All Stars is back!”

Fans took to the comments to celebrate, with one writing: “YAYYYY.” Another commented: “Let’s gooooo.” A third said: “Finally have something to watch for the next 6 weeks.” While a fourth wrote: “FINALLY I thought it would be delayed for ages.”

Jess Harding, Shaq Muhammad, Sean Stone, Whitney Adebayo, Jack Keating, Millie Court, Maya Jama, Charlie Frederick, Tommy Bradley, Belle Hassan, Helena Ford, Ciaran Davies and Leanne Amaning(Image: Joel Anderson/ITV/Shutterstock)

It’s been a tough few days for the Love Island camp, with ITV reportedly losing £15,000 (€17,300) every hour that the show is postponed. The South African villa, based in Franschhoek, costs £9,000 (€10,400) per night to rent, while the crew members will be receiving their daily rates while staying in nearby hotels.

Filming for the show was due to start on Saturday, with Millie Court, Shaq Muhammad and Whitney Adebayo among those taking part in series three.

There’s also Irish interest this year as Jack Keating, the son of singer Ronan Keating of Boyzone fame, is returning to the villa. After only a very brief stint on his first season, he’s now hoping to have a proper crack at finding love.

View 3 Images

Jack Keating(Image: Joel Anderson/ITV/Shutterstock)

However, with the wildfires causing a road closure near the villa, production plans were completely halted.

A source exclusively told the Mirror: “It’s a nightmare. It’s left the team scrambling to arrange alternative options on what’s the most difficult day in terms of logistics for the crew – it’s called the ‘get in’ day, and they need to make sure everything is running on time and that the islanders don’t get a glimpse of each other before arriving at the villa.

“The filming for their arrivals/meetings take hours. Safety is priority though and they have plans in place for such situations. But not ideal given the show hasn’t even begun.”

Love Island: All Stars begins tomorrow night at 9pm on Virgin Media Two.