IT is Channel 4’s new daring show that looks set to get everybody talking.

Virgin Island is the broadcaster’s latest concept which sees 12 single Virgins head to a luxury retreat in Croatia in a bid to lose their v-plates once and for all.

Meet the cast of Channel 4’s Virgin Island
With research by University College London showing that 1 in 8 26-year-old are still a virgin, compared to 1 in 20 in previous generations, the show will explore why more adults than ever are waiting longer before having S3X.

Amid a desire to free themselves of the stigma of being a virgin, the 12 Islanders will be hoping that sparks fly, confidence grows and that things may even go bump in the night!

But will all 12 of the group be able to lose their virginity?

Here are all the Islanders determined to find out..

BEN, 30, Civil servant

Will 30-year-old Ben be able to finally get down to it?
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Ben has always struggled when it comes to dating and found that despite being on dating apps throughout university, he was never able to meet The One.

He is hoping to discover why he struggles with intimacy and hopes that by taking part in the show, he can build his confidence enough to get his kit off once and for all.

Speaking about how he discovered the programme, Ben said: “A friend sent me the casting call for Virgin Island on social media. I’m not sure if he knew I was a virgin, but he knew I’d struggled in this area.

“Funnily enough, my immediate response to his message was ‘not a chance’.

EMMA, 23, Food worker

Emma’s fear of S3X has always held her back
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Bubbly Emma is pretty much like your typical 23-year-old – except for her, the thought of having S3X with someone is absolutely terrifiying.

Emma thought she was the only person on the planet to be left without any intimate experience at her age and so was eager to take part in Virgin Island when the offer came along.

Amid a desire to not feel left out among her peers, Emma said: “I was the only virgin amongst my friendship group, I felt outnumbered.

“I believed I was the only human experiencing adult life without intimacy but I couldn’t relax when there is the possibility of intimacy and I had to battle previous traumas.

“The fact that this concept was being brought to TV made me realise being over 21 and never having S3X was not as rare as I thought it was.”

DAVE, 24, Accountant

Will Dave be able to set the bedroom on fire?
S3Xless Dave admits he lives the epitome of a boring life with a boring job and is in desperate need of spicing things up.

At 24, the untouched maths whizz is hoping to meet the girl of his dreams, settle down and, more importantly, set the bedroom alight with a potential partner.

Deciding he needed to take drastic action in order to see improvement on his life, Dave admits signing up to the Channel 4 show seemed like the best, and cheapest, option.

 

 

He said: “An initial joke by some friends for some cheap laughs slowly became the opportunity of a lifetime. I have always struggled to open up to people but this led me to feel invisible – a feeling I couldn’t take anymore.

“I felt like it couldn’t continue and I wanted to do something drastic to get my life back on track.

“It’s also surprisingly quicker to get therapy from a Channel 4 TV show than from the NHS.”

JASON, 25, Admin worker

Jason is a self-confessed ‘failure’ but will he finally be able to spice things up in the bedroom department?
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At 25 years old, Jason decided to sign up to the programme in hopes that the experts and therapists could help him with his self-confidence.

Lonely-at-heart and frightened at the prospect of even talking to a woman, Jason admitted that Virgin Island changed him for the better.

Openly calling himself a “failure”, Jason said: “I always felt like a failure in terms of intimacy and socialness.

“I know the island was primarily for intimacy, but it had
the amazing bonus of helping me improve my social skills – and for that, I will be forever grateful.”

LOUISE, 22, Care advisor

Will glam Louise find someone to pop her cherry?
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Stunning Louise is hoping to make the most of her early twenties and is keen to enjoy a string of dates and find her dream connection.

But for this S3Xual newcomer, her lack of experience in the bedroom department led her fearing the prospect of letting someone in.

Louise said: “I never really imagined applying for a show like Virgin Island but my friend sent me the application as a joke, and I thought, ‘Why not?’

“I was at the point where I was willing to try anything.

“I had just accepted that there must’ve just been something wrong with me – I think the fact that my friends would see the word ‘virgin’ and think of me says enough to be honest.”

CHARLOTTE, 29, Care worker

Charlotte’s been on a body transformation and now she’s ready to get intimate
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At nearly 30 years old, Charlotte could never have imagined herself having still not had an intimate experience.

Having gone on a body transformation, dropping 40kg in weight, Charlotte now feels ready to overhaul the next stage in her journey – her non-existent S3X life.

She said: “Because I wanted to rid myself of my shame that I had surrounding my body, and my desire, and my ability to give
myself pleasure.

“I wanted to be honest with myself so that I would not be hindered when having relationships in the future.”

HOLLY, 23, Dog groomer

23-year-old Holly’s confidence has been affected by a school bullying hell
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Anxiety-ridden Holly admits she is ready more than ever to fall for someone but a deep fear of going beyond a kiss is holding her back.

Having been bullied in school as a result of her weight, Holly has always lacked the confidence to strip off and get down to business with a partner.

She said: “I felt like I was at a point in my life where I was ready to experience being with someone, but I had a lot of anxiety and
questions about myself that I felt I had to work through before taking that step.

“I was definitely nervous, not knowing what to expect, what the others were going to be like, whether I was actually
going to get anything out of it.

“The thought of the unknown was definitely scary but also exciting.

“I’ve never done anything like this before.”

PIA, 23, Digital marketing assistant

Pia has been single and celibate for four years – but will she be able to turn up the heat in Croatia?
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Pia has been single for four years after her last relationship ended aged 19.

Since then, she has failed to find love despite countless nights swiping left and right on all the apps.

Pia also suffers from Vaginismus – a condition described by the NHS as “where the vaginal muscles involuntarily contract, making vaginal penetration difficult or impossible”.

Pia revealed of her reasoning for signing up to the show: “I applied for Virgin Island because of my struggles with vaginismus.

“I wanted to overcome the pain and anxiety I felt
when exploring penetrative s3x.

“Plus, I found intimacy incredibly overwhelming.

“Processing all of the intense emotions I felt was hard for me – whether they were positive or negative.”

TAYLOR, 29, Receptionist

Taylor is entering the show with a new attitude to s3x
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Taylor admits she’s never had a good S3Xual experience of her life and shunned the idea for many years amid the fears and risks that can come with being intimate.

When she hit uni, she learned to discover that the pleasure of S3X could outweigh certain risks associated with it and that it wasn’t all as technical as making a baby!

Now aged 29, she is hoping to finally embrace S3X and go all the way and enjoy it at the same time.

Taylor reflected on her views of S3X: “I spent my whole adult life wondering why I found S3Xual things so difficult when others didn’t.

“When I was a teenager, the risks of S3X seemed to far outweigh the benefits, the only benefit anyone spoke of was babies, and I certainly wasn’t ready for one of those.

“In my early twenties being a virgin was almost fetishised, people made me feel uncomfortable with how excited they were to be the first.

“I felt like I was holding onto something useless and awkward but everyone wanted to take it.”

TOM, 23, Drama student

Can Tom finally have a mind-blowing bedroom experience?
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Having experience university life during the heart of the pandemic, Tom feels as though his chances of S3Xual encounters were taken away from him.

Whilst his friends were often able to pull someone back to theirs after a night out, Tom admits that after a quick snog with a girl, he is often asked if he is gay, leading him to question if he really has what it takes to please a lady.

Tom said of agreeing to take part in Virgin Island: “I always found myself to be a freak because I struggled to lose my virginity whilst others around me continued to pop their cherries.

“It severely affected my mental health, filling me with self-loathing which in turn made me a worse person.

“My love life was non-existent and playing into my self-hatred so when one of my friends sent the application to me, with all of this in my mind, I leapt at the opportunity.”

VIRAJ, 25, Personal trainer

Despite being a PT, Viraj has been unable to get it on with a girl
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Despite being a hunky PT, this hasn’t helped Viraj when it comes to getting down and dirty.

Admitting his struggle was more with the conversation leading up to an intimate moment, as opposed to the deed itself, Viraj received plenty of encouragement when he told pals he was heading to Virgin Island.

Viraj said: “I had a massive struggle to express myself in front of women.

“For me it wasn’t about the intimacy stage but more with the confidence side of talking to women and making small talk.

“This whole idea was encouraged by my friends for me to get out of my comfort zone and go through with this.

“I felt extremely nervous and at times I did doubt myself going through with this knowing it would be on TV.”

ZAC, 28, Delivery driver

Zac has never been more ready to get his kit off
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Arguably the most up for it out of the group, Zac is ready and raring to go when it comes to rolling around the bedroom floor.

But will this untouched delivery driver be able to get the wheels in motion once and for all?

Zac said: “There was a man reporting that Channel 4 was looking for adult virgins to take part in an experimental TV show. This was of course describing me.

“At first I was like – no way, I’m not gonna do that, but I started to think about it more and more, and I realised that I wasn’t really getting anywhere by myself, time was just passing me by with no real positive change.”