Fans of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice will be familiar with Brendan Cole. From his foxtrot to his winning smile, the Strictly star has won over the nation becoming something of a national treasure.
It may come as a surprise to find out however, that Strictly isn't the dancer's only foray into TV. Back in 2006 Brendan starred in a series of Love Island. Yep, you heard us right - Brendan was a full fledged Islander.
Some of you may be surprised to hear there was a celebrity series of Love Island back in the noughties. Okay, time for a history lesson: So the Love Island we all know and love was actually a reboot of an earlier TV series called Celebrity Love Island.
The series was retitled Love Island in its second series and the original show was nowhere near as successful as the latter, in fact it was cancelled in 2006 after two series due to low ratings.
While the two shows share a name and basic concept, there are many differences between the two. The original show saw a cast of twelve single celebrities flown out to Fiji for five weeks - we know, this all sounds a lot more glitzy than the current iteration of the show. As with the current version of the show, contestants would be voted off by viewers until only one couple remained.
Now where did Brendan fit into this? Well Brendan joined the show in 2006 during its second series. He was paired with former Eternal singer Kéllé Bryan and they did well, leaving the island as a runner-up. The couple sadly lost to model Bianca Gascoigne and reality star Calum Best, but we're sure they still had a nice time - who can really object to a free holiday?
Check out: who else was on Love Island in 2006
Love Island 2006: Where are they now? stacked
1 of 19Bianca Gascoigne
Bianca won the 2006 series with Calum Best, and has since appeared on The X Factor (YUP) in 2012 and Celebrity Big Brother in 2017. She's also recently started dating Katie Price's ex Kris Boyson.
2 of 19Calum Best
Calum's barely been off our screens since Celebrity Love Island, tbh. Recently, he took part in E4's Celebs Go Dating and Ex on the Beach. He also spends a lot of time in the gym, as you can probably tell.
3 of 19Kéllé Bryan
Eternal star Kéllé Bryan has since appeared in panto and almost got back with her old Eternal bandmates for The Big Reunion before pulling out. Since 2018 she's starred as Martine Deveraux in Hollyoaks and been a Loose Women panelist.
4 of 19Abs Breen
Where do we start with Abs, eh? Since Celebrity Love Island the 5ive singer's rejoined the band (through ITV2 show The Big Reunion), left the band again (via Twitter) and appeared on everything from Celebrity Big Brother (2013) to Country Strife: Abz on the Farm (2014). This year he appeared on Celebrity Come Dine With Me too. Oh yeah, and his name's spelt with a 'z' now.
5 of 19Sophie Anderton
Sophie went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother 2013, alongside fellow islander Abs. She's also into yoga, "wellness" and general peace and love vibes according to her Instagram.
6 of 19Lady Victoria Hervey
Lady Victoria Hervey joined Channel 4 telly show The Jump in 2015, on the condition her dog could join her in Austria. Obvs. She's currently living her best life in LA, being an animal activist and running a swimwear brand.
7 of 19Lee Otway
Former Hollyoaks star Lee went on to star in panto. Oh, and in 2015 he won a Royal Television Society Student Award for his work directing the pilot School on Report. Lee appeared in Doctors in 2019, but doesn't appear to have been up to much since then.
8 of 19Colleen Shannon
Colleen's since appeared in How I Met Your Mother and in Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls. She was also arrested in 2012 for smuggling her Canadian boyfriend into the US and she was sentenced to 4 months in prison.
9 of 19Shane Lynch
Shane's still very much in Boyzone - with the band currently working on their last ever album - and he came third in Celebrity Big Brother winter 2018. He's recently split up with his wife, Sheena White, after 13 years.
10 of 19Steve-O
Jackass star Steve-O took part in a protest against SeaWorld in 2015, and was consequently convicted of two misdemeanors and sentenced to 30 days in jail.
11 of 19Paul Danan
Paul 'Dangerous' Danan was known for his rather erratic behaviour on the show; he went on to star in spin-off show Calum, Fran And Dangerous Danan. He appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, and he now runs the Paul Danan Drama Club in London.
12 of 19Alicia Douvall
Alicia Douvall obviously went in to the Celebrity Big Brother house. There's a recurring theme here, eh? She also became a self-confessed plastic surgery addict after her time on the show, going on to warn other celebs about the consequences of going under the knife.
13 of 19Chris Brosnan
Call us lazy af but there's very little information as to what on Earth Chris has been up to since Love Island. Like, literally nothing.
14 of 19Brendan Cole
Brendan went on to compete on BBC show Strictly Come Dancing for 15 years; before being sacked in 2018 for breaching protocol and waltzing with Camilla Parker Bowles at Buckingham Palace.
15 of 19Dennis Rodman
So, um, Dennis Rodman went on to become one of the first Americans to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2013. He's since described Kim as 'a friend for life.'
16 of 19Emily Scott
Model Emily Scott went on to participate in Dancing with the Stars Australia (2009) and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2011). She now describes herself as a "music maker and creator" in her Instagram bio.
17 of 19Leo Ihenacho
Leo - aka Leo the Lion - left The Streets to join Love Island and has since appeared on The Voice. He joined Kylie Minogue's team in the third series in 2014.
18 of 19Emma and Eve Ryan
Sorry, WHO? The identical Stockport twins were chucked into the island in a bid to save the 'stuggling' TV show (who's laughing now?) and their most recent tweet was back in 2012. Here's an old picture of 'em, though.
19 of 19Kate Lawler
Big Brother 3 winner Kate Lawler joined Bauer radio post-Love Island; presenting on Key 103 and Kerrang! Radio. In August 2019, Kate moved to present Drivetime on Virgin Radio
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Brendan Cole has been a staple of British TV since he joined Strictly back in 2004 during the show's first series (which he also won). While the celebrity contestants change each series, Brendan provided that much needed bit of familiarity to ensure viewers keep returning to the show.
He went on compete in every following series until 2018, when he announced he had been axed from the show. While he is no longer on Strictly, Brendan has by no means retired from the small screen. He is currently competing in the latest series of Dancing On Ice and he's doing very well, in large no doubt due to his background in dance. We are sure it is no easy feat swapping dancing shoes for ice-skates, however.