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Virgin Island experts share hopes for season 3 – with an important change when it comes to cast members

Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman are ready to head back to the island!

Callum and Tegan sit holding hands over a table with two women stood in the background observing them.

Channel 4/Double Act

Published: Wednesday, 27 May 2026 at 12:25 pm

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Virgin Island season 2 may have only just concluded but the show's experts are keen to head back to Croatia and get filming for a brand new season.

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While there is no word on the BAFTA nominated series being renewed, experts Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman are keen and already have ideas, should a third season be confirmed.

During an appearance on the Spill With Will podcast, Harel shared: "I think one of the things you don’t see on Virgin Island yet – and we hope to see on season 3 – is gay men taking part in the show. We have a gay therapist waiting.

"We have all the therapists everyone needs to get help, both surrogates and body workers who are prepared to do that."

Radio Times understands that a third season of Virgin Island hasn't yet been green lit.

Celeste Hirschman and Dr Danielle Harel sat down next to each other, smiling ahead.

Celeste Hirschman and Dr Danielle Harel. Channel 4 / Rob Parfitt

The series was a huge success for Channel 4, with the first season becoming a ratings hit for the broadcaster, breaking records among 16-to-34-year-olds.

The first episode of season 1 has become Channel 4’s most watched show among that demographic in 2025 so far, beating out established formats like Taskmaster, Married at First Sight Australia and Gogglebox.

The series as a whole was Channel 4’s biggest streaming hit of 2025.

Harel continued: "We want brave virgin gay men to come to the island. Don’t hide, we have a safe place for you to come to."

Hirschman added: "We thought we had a gay participant but it didn’t work out in the end. We want to bring everyone out to the island."

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Amid high ratings, the series did receive criticisms from audiences, with some viewers unsure if such a personal journey like losing your virginity should be played out on television for the nation to watch.

The question of whether the show's depiction of someone's sexual journey should be shown on television was put to experts Harel and Hirschman – co-founders of the Somatica Institute and co-creators of the Somatica method.

"Just thinking about the idea of personal and secretive, I think that's part of the shame," Harel told Radio Times. "It's not like the idea is, 'Let's have sex outside on the streets', that's not the point. It's okay to have privacy around sexuality but there's something so powerful about seeing people's transformation and helping it transform other people's lives."

She continued: "And also, what if we didn't feel so much shame around sexuality? What if we were allowed to talk about it? People see cooking shows together, why is that not personal?"

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Virgin Island seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Channel 4.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Katelyn Mensah, smiling against a lime green background.

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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