How can A&E doctor take eight weeks off to appear on Britain’s tawdriest reality show?
HE has a responsible job as a doctor in a hospital’s A&E department, a role he says he ‘absolutely loves’.
But not enough, it seems, to stop Dr Alex George taking eight weeks off to appear in television’s tackiest dating show.
The 27-year-old has been named as one of the contestants in the new series of ITV2’s Love Island, which has become notorious for its lewd content.
The series, which airs every evening, follows young singletons who are left together in a villa in Majorca as they date, break up and get back together.
They are filmed 24 hours a day – with nightvision cameras recording their bedroom antics. The winning pair, as voted by the public, wins £50,000.
Dr George, from Carmarthen, west Wales, is one of two unlikely choices for contestants, along with a nuclear engineer.
The doctor, who studied medicine at Exeter University, was working on a zero hours contract at the accident and emergency department of University Hospital Lewisham, South-East London.
He will take his place in the Majorcan villa next Monday when the show’s fourth series begins.
Asked if he had any worries, he said: ‘You’re recorded 24 hours a day and I just want to make sure that I behave in the right way.’ He added: ‘I absolutely love my job, I’ve worked since the age of 13 to get here and I go to work every day and I genuinely enjoy it.
‘I would probably go back and do it part-time. If I could mix it with TV work I would. I think there’s probably room for a new TV doctor.
‘I’m very driven and motivated and the work that I do shows that I like to achieve. I think some people would think I’m crazy coming on Love Island, it’s completely different from working as an A&E doctor, but at the end of the day it’s a great opportunity and I think, “Why not, let’s just go for it!”’
Also joining the show is electrical and nuclear systems design engineer Wes Nelson, 22, who describes himself as ‘very academic’.
More typical Love Island contestants this year include EastEnders actor Danny Dyer’s barmaid daughter Dani, 21; fashion model Hayley Hughes, 21; and a personal trainer, 22-yearold Adam Collard.
Joining them will be West End performer Samira Mighty, who has appeared in productions including Mamma Mia! and Dreamgirls. The 22-year-old, from London, described herself as a ‘boys’ girl’ and said that going ‘head to head with someone for a guy’ wouldn’t trouble her.
Last year’s series saw more than two million people tune in every evening, with a surprising number of them from the ABC1 social category – the upper and middle classes. They made up 50.6 per cent of viewers, up from 40 per cent since 2015 when the first series was aired.
The series was even discussed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, while celebrities such as Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid, Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington and journalist Rachel Johnson admitted being fans.