Love Island confirms Natasha Ghouri as first deaf contestant on ITV dating show

Dancer Natasha Ghouri has been confirmed as the first deaf contestant to appear on the next series of the popular ITV2 dating show, Love Island.

It comes after The Sun quoted a source who said “everyone is very excited” about the 23-year-old entering the villa.

They told the outlet: “It’s something really positive for youngsters to see. Natasha looks amazing in a bikini and has a bubbly personality.”

Announcing the Islanders on Monday, the Love Island official Twitter account wrote: “Who’s going to dig our dancing queen, Tasha?”

Meanwhile, a post on Tasha’s Instagram profile added: “AHHH! The cat’s out of the bag and this cat is on Love Island searching for the one!

“Will our Tasha find her dance partner or will they have two left feet? Only one way to find out!”

The dancer has also said her dating life has been “a shambles” with Love Island being “an opportunity for me to find ‘the one’ and have a great summer at the same time”.

“It’s a tough one because I’m a girls’ girl but it is a dating show and I’m here to find my man. I may have to step on toes but I’ll do it in the nicest way possible,” she said.

When asked how family and friends would describe her, Tasha added they would definitely consider her “wild”.

She continued: “I can get very wild on a night out, I’m definitely a party animal. I love my prosecco and to have a dance – I’m always on the dance floor.

“I’m very loyal to my friends and family, I’ll always have their backs. I’m the type of person to put others before me.

“They would definitely say I’m a nap queen – I love napping! I think they’d also say I’m inspirational because of my hearing and my cochlear implant.

“I inspire quite a lot of people because I’m really open about it.”

The Yorkshire model previously featured in the music video for the Sleepwalkrs track More Than Words alongside Deaf dancer Chris Fonseca, and received praise last year when she appeared as a model for the fashion brand ASOS.

Tasha, who is a cochlear implant user, said at the time: “It may just be an ear but it means so much more. Like what [RNID] said, representation matters, and I’m bloody proud to represent my community.”

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A post shared by Tasha Amber Ghouri (@tashaghouri)

Annie Harris, of the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID), previously told The Sun: “We are really pleased that another major TV show is featuring a deaf contestant. Representation matters.”

The new series of Love Island begins on 6 June.

Photo: Sleepwalkrs/YouTube.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.