Holly Willoughby threw her support behind Love Island 2022 star Gemma Owen on ITV’s This Morning.
Love Island finally returned to screens on Monday night (June 6) – which meant a new batch of sexy singletons landed in the villa in a bid to find love on the hit ITV dating show.
It meant Gemma, who is the daughter of famed former England striker Michael Owen, appeared on our screens for the first time as she made her debut in the sunny Mallorca villa.
However, the 19-year-old sparked a lot of criticism on social media – with some viewers branding her “rude”.
This Morning star Holly decided to defend Gemma live on Tuesday’s This Morning during a chat with former stars Amber Gill and Amy Childs.
(Image: ITV)
Holly said: “She did [attract] a lot of attention on social media last night, probably because she’s got a famous dad and people always like to have an opinion.
“I quite liked her! I quite liked that she stood back. I thought she was quite dry, and I quite liked that about her.”
Former Love Island champ Amber compared herself to Gemma when she said: “I love that. That’s a bit like what I was like.”
(Image: ITV)
Amber, who won the show in 2019 with her then-boyfriend Greg O’Shea, stuck up for Gemma on Twitter the night before appearing on Holly’s programme.
She said: “Let’s cut Gemma a break because you all thought I was a b**ch for saying a man didn’t suit sunglasses when he didn’t!!!!!”
The brunette beauty secured plenty of airtime in the episode, which saw the islanders coupled up for the first time after host Laura Whitmore told them the public would be deciding on the couples in a shock format twist.
(Image: ITV)
Gemma savagely rejected her partner Liam Llewellyn during a game of ‘truth or dare’ played by the islanders.
She decided not to kiss Welsh student Liam despite being his partner and refused to give him a lap dance, leading Paige to step in and give Liam an awkward dance so he didn’t feel left out.
Gemma also slammed her co-star Luca Bish’s surname during the debut episode – calling it “unfortunate” and leaving the hunk looking rather offended.
Michael Owen’s daughter also held off from revealing she had a famous dad.
Love Island airs 9pm on ITV2 and ITVHub.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
