The latest series of Love Island is still days away, but the drama has already begun after a Love Island 2025 contestant was axed from the show just hours after the cast was announced.
Kyle Ashman was one of the 12 OG Islanders revealed yesterday morning (Tuesday 3 May) but ITV bosses confirmed he would no longer be entering the villa last night after it came to light that he was arrested on suspicion of a machete attack earlier this year.
The 23-year-old water operative from Stafford was one of two people questioned by police before being released with no further action and there is no suggestion that he was involved in the attack.
Kyle’s arrest reportedly wasn’t flagged in the pre-show contestant checks, however ITV released a statement confirming he would no longer be taking part in the series when they were made aware.
‘For personal reasons, Kyle will not be entering the Love Island villa as planned,’ a spokesperson said.
Kyle has now broken his silence on the matter and insisted that he wasn’t involved in the attack.
He said, ‘I fully co-operated with this police investigation and made it very clear that I had no involvement in this incident.
‘I am not a violent person and any suggestion otherwise is a mischaracterisation.’
Speaking about Kyle’s removal from the show, a TV insider explained, ‘ITV were entirely unaware of Kyle’s past and, as he was not charged, it was not flagged as part of Love Island’s stringent DBS checks.’
They told The Sun, ‘It’s only right he can now return home to the UK to share his side of the story and therefore bosses took the decision that it was best for him not to enter the villa.’
The incident took place incident at The White Eagle Club in Stafford in February. It’s claimed that the victim has been left with tendon damage and is unable to drive after being stabbed in the arm.
‘This was a horrific attack which could have been even worse,’ a source told the same publication.
They added, ‘This seemed to be a targeted attack — they knew who they were looking for and where he was.’
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Nathan Katnoria is heat and Closer online’s senior digital writer. He became obsessed with Love Island when Malin Andersson came back to confront Terry Walsh in series two and hasn’t looked back since. When he’s not interviewing former Islanders, Nathan is scrolling through their Instagram feeds for relationship updates and piping hot tea.