Accountant in training Lillie Haynes has joined the ranks in this year’s series of Love Island and could be the one to take home the £50k cash crown for the profession.
The British reality game show made its long-awaited comeback last month after the pandemic ripped away the 2020 summer of love.
Its return was accompanied by trainee accountant 22-year-old Lillie Haynes, the bombshell beancounter who arrived in Casa Amor this week to kick up a storm in the selection of singleton’s journeys to finding the one.
As usual, the introduction of opposing paradise villa Casa Amor found half the contestants split from their current partners to test their devotion amongst a sea of fresh faces.
Joining the rest of the mid-series newbies, South Shields-born Haynes had her networking strategy in place from the get go, setting her sights on 21-year-old bricklayer Liam Reardon.
Though the risks ran high, Haynes calculated her odds and assessed the situation on the efficacy of Reardon’s existing romance with rival contestant Millie Court.
Haynes isn’t afraid to go for the gold: “I’m a harsh person – I just say things how they are,” she told ITV upon her arrival in Casa Amor. “[I’m] very ‘get what I want’, I have no filter at all. If I want something I’ll be the first one out there, trying it, doing it and I’m not scared to take risks.”
Labelled by her workmates as a “loveable headache”, the budding accountant described her knack for numbers: “I was always maths and science based at school, I was more natural at that kind of thing.
“I followed my passion route originally, which was dancing. And then I realised I should probably go back to my natural capabilities. I liked the sound of finance and accountancy.”
The last time an accountant trainee entered the world of reality TV, they ended up taking home the crown. The proof was in the pudding for 20-year-old Peter Sawkins, who won 2020’s Great British Bake Off culinary competition to the delight of the profession.
Will Haynes be the next number-crunching nominee for challenging the stoic stereotype of accountancy? She’s got our vote - let the games begin.