Love Island fans were left in stitches during Monday night’s episode as the group took on the infamous ‘Heart Rate Monitor’ challenge, with season five alumni Curtis Pritchard sweeping the board. Long-time viewers of the show will remember the star’s first foray into the world of striptease back in 2019 when he donned a pair of purple hot pants and and headdress little else to raise the girls’ heart rates. The outfit immediately saw him compared to King Julien, from DreamWorks's Madagascar movie.
In honour of that unforgettable memory, the 28-year-old professional dancer decided to wear the exact same look to entertain the female residents and try and win the challenge. Throwing himself into the dance, Curtis was soon thrusting towards the girls, twerking, and moving seductively, before launching into a dramatic knee slide across the floor, leaving both his co-stars and viewers at home stunned. "Did that man just knee slide on wood???" one shocked Instagram user asked.
People tuning in were left stunned by the spectacle with many commenting they were in tears of laughter. One person joked: "King Julien is back," while another user penned: “Curtis and Ekin are genuinely insane.”. Someone else added: “CURTIS THAT WAS UNHOLY,” while someone else enthused: “Omg the reprisal of Samba de Janeiro for Curtis is ICONIC.”. When the results came in and it became clear that Curtis's very exuberant dancing had raised the heart rates of the majority of the women, many viewers questioned his tactics.
One person joked: "The girls running for their life from Curtis is killing me off." And someone else added: "The way the girls scattered when Curtis started throwing himself around.". Another user reasoned: "Their heart rates were raised by Curtis because they were all running away pissing themselves," added a second viewer, "My jaw.. has been dropped LOOOL this episode is WILD," and a third person wrote: "Curtis just raised everyone’s heart out of fear.".
When Curtis was first compared to the animated lemur, he also faced cruel fat-shaming, something he recently reflected on in an interview with The Mirror ahead of his All Stars villa appearance. "I've been hitting the gym as much as I possibly can," he revealed. Looking back on his first performance, he admitted: "I went into it all guns blazing," unaware of the reaction beyond the villa. However, this time around, he's taking a different approach.
"I’ll keep an open mind," he said. "The best way to tackle Love Island is to go with the flow and not shut down any opportunities. "This time, I’ll be less King Julien and more Magic Mike. Give me Ginuwine’s Pony to dance to. I’ll be Speedo-body ready.". Curtis wasn't the Islander only causing waves in the villa during Monday's show. Ekin-Su caused upset when she went all out to try and win the heart rate challenge and ended up kissing one of the other girl's partners.
Alongside giving an almost X-rated lap dance to her own partner Curtis Pritchard, the star singled out Sammy and gave him a peck of his own. They boys asked how Curtis felt, and he looked torn as he said: "I'm gonna let it slide, it was just a peck. The kiss was weird but...". Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok,Snapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads.
