I'm back to being the Luca before the villa

Celebrity MasterChef was the perfect recipe for Love Island's Luca Bish to feel himself again

- GEMMA MCCARTNEY

Twelve months after setting foot in the Love Island villa, Luca Bish describes the past year as a “whirlwind”. From working with Scott Disick’s brand Talentless to splitting from his girlfriend Gemma Owen, the former fishmonger, 23, has plenty to reflect on when we catch up with him. It’s safe to say Luca didn’t have an easy ride on the ITV2 dating show. He was accused of “controlling” behaviour and was reluctant to ever work on TV again due to the toll the programme took on him mentally. But it becomes clear when we chat that filming his latest venture, BBC’s Celebrity MasterChef, has given him his mojo back.

“Making that show has brought me back to being the Luca before the villa,” he says. “I felt myself again, it made me feel comfortable to do TV again. I was still very unsure if I wanted to be put in a situation where you can be shown in a certain light, but it made me feel so happy.”

Luca survived recouplings and vote-offs to make it all the way to the Love Island final with Gemma. However, filming the show came with confrontations, intensity and doubts over who he could trust. By the end Luca was at breaking point.

“I was like a battery and most of my juice was gone by the end of it and I was just ready to go,” he recalls. “I was mentally not there. When my mum and dad came in [as part of the Meet the Parents challenge], they even said they weren’t looking at their son. And that’s sad to hear, but thanks to MasterChef I feel back and if not better than I have before. It’s just learning, but I feel amazing. I’ve embraced it.”