Inside ‘Love Island USA’ Narrator Iain Stirling’s Job to Push Jokes “as Far as I Can Get Away With”

In addition to Love Island USA host Ariana Madix, there’s one other person who’s become a staple on Peacock‘s hit reality show. Though you might not know him for his “incredible skin,” he quips, you definitely could recognize his iconic British accent from anywhere.

Comedian Iain Stirling, who has been narrating the U.S. version since season four and the U.K. version going back to season one, reveals that he was “absolutely buzzing” to return to both shows again this year, even if it does limit his sleep for six weeks.

“I would like to make that very clear: there are nurses and doctors and firefighters and night shift workers all across America listening to me going, ‘Oh, for six weeks I’ve got to write 30 jokes instead of 20.’ So it’s absolutely fine. It’s a real honor,” he admits to The Hollywood Reporter.

For a comedian, getting paid to write jokes about hot single Islanders running around a beautiful villa in Fiji searching for love is likely a dream job. The unpredictable and chaotic nature of the show allows Stirling to bring playful jabs and timely jokes to his commentary that viewers have grown to love.

“I’m a stand-up comedian, so it’s kind of my job to push it as far as I can get away with,” he says, noting that when writing jokes, he has to keep in mind that the “sensitivities are really different around America and the U.K., and that was a thing to adjust to.”

Below, Stirling takes fans behind the mic and reveals how he’s able to turn around his commentary so quickly, whether some of his jokes get rejected before making it to air, how he juggles the U.S. and U.K. at the same time, his reaction to watching Americans as an Englishman and more.

What were you looking forward to most about returning to Love Island USA as well as the U.K. version this year?

I’m absolutely buzzing really, because obviously I think America and U.K. both had really exciting journeys last year. America had exploded, became this massive thing. And then the U.K. had a resurgence of people getting into it. It’s been really fun because obviously it’s really difficult in the world of streamers and apps and all the rest of it to find stuff that people actually take the time to watch. So it’s a real honor to work on a show that loads of people watch and to do two of them at the same time is pretty crazy.

Given that the U.S. has reached a new level of popularity in the last two seasons, how does it feel to be a part of that success? 

I’m not in America, so I’m sort of detached from it. I don’t really get how big it is. And then the other day, someone sent me a thing on Instagram of Kylie Jenner doing an Instagram Reel with my voice over it, and I was just like, “Yeah, this is sort of mad,” because I just didn’t realize quite how much of a cornerstone of American popular culture it is at the minute. But it’s really nice. And every time I go to America every now and again for work or whatever and I’ll order a coffee and someone will recognize my voice, it’s sort of fun.

How stressful is it doing both shows at the same time? Do you have time to sleep?

Luckily, I’ve got a fantastic family around me who are incredible and it’s just a lot of forward planning. When you do that, you can stay on top of it and you just get naps and sleep when you can, and just make sure you’re giving work and your family and everyone the correct amount of attention. It’s totally doable.

People are so kind to always be like, “I hope you’re OK.” But it is also for six weeks, so it’s fine. People work harder than me all year round. I would like to make that very clear: there are nurses and doctors and firefighters and night shift workers all across America listening to me going, “Oh, for six weeks I’ve got to write 30 jokes instead of 20.” So it’s absolutely fine. It’s a real honor and I’m enjoying it.

What’s the turnaround time for how far in advance you see the cut of the episode and record the voiceover?

We’ve got to get it done that day. It’s much easier in the U.K. because I know the way television works: That episode goes out that night. But the episode we work on that day on Love Island USA has to be sent to Peacock that night. But I’m not completely up to date with what happens once it gets to Peacock, how many days it takes for them to upload it onto their streamer. But essentially we start at half eight at night, which is like first thing the morning Fiji time, and we finish at 2:30 in the morning. And if we’re not done by 2:30 in the morning, that show will not have voiceover to go on the TV.

Do you have to run your script by producers or do they pretty much trust you at this point?

So we write the show and then there’s a big exec meeting with all the bosses from NBC and Peacock and ITV and all that. I can’t imagine how many people are in that room, but there’s a lot, and they’re going through everything shot-wise and joke-wise and all that stuff that’s way above my pay grade. And 90 percent of the time they’re absolutely fine. And then 10 percent of the time they’re like, “Obviously, you can’t say that.” (Laughs.) And then we have to write another one at 2 a.m. and sometimes we do something a bit better.

Have you ever gone too cheeky or raunchy with your jokes and had to cut it? And if so, do you remember what you said? 

We do, but then that’s a sort of working relationship. I’m a standup comedian, so it’s kind of my job to push it as far as I can get away with. And then it’s the head honchos’ boss to rail it and to make it acceptable for broadcast. If I was second-guessing what would and wouldn’t be allowed, I think I wouldn’t be as funny. And sometimes I say stuff like, there’s no way, and it flies. And then other times it’s the other way around.

I don’t think I can think of exact examples off the top of my head, but sensitivities are really different around America and the U.K., and that was a thing to adjust to. So there’s stuff that we would never get away with on the U.K. show, and there’s other stuff that I said, not giving it a second thought, and they were like, “Absolutely not. Can’t do that.”

Do you record anything in advance to help make the process smoother throughout the show’s run?

It’s not as big a deal in America, weirdly, [but] in the U.K., they always said how old they are and what they do for a living, whereas in America, it’s how old they are and where they’re from. So basically the only prep we can do is there’s a week before we start when we get all the information and we just do jokes about people’s jobs. We’ve got a bikini store manager or an electrician or whatever it is and we can just write a bunch of jokes. But other than that, it’s just we show up on the day, we get given this stuff and we just start writing away.

As a Brit, you’re used to watching Love Island U.K., so now narrating the U.S. version, what’s your thoughts on Americans and how they communicate and interact?  

I found that quite off-putting at the beginning, but now I’m quite jealous of Americans. Again, I’m very aware of Love Island. You cannot use Love Island to generalize the general population, but they seem to kiss too soon. In U.K. Love Island, you would go out with someone before you kiss them. We’re very proud and proper in the U.K., but they’re very good at conveying their emotions and sitting down and talking with people about how they feel and stuff. And I feel like the guys as well are very in touch with where they are at emotionally, which is very healthy and something as a modern man, I’m trying to work my way through it.

Being a comedian and doing stand-up, how much does that help when it comes to writing jokes so quickly for the episodes?

Massively! Sometimes writing the jokes feels like you’re doing crowdwork in a room, especially the speed you’ve got to go at because we’re doing about 20, 25 jokes in the space of four hours, which doesn’t sound mad, but then when you take out an hour plus to physically watch the show and then it doesn’t give you long to write each of the jokes. Sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can’t. But yeah, being a standup is invaluable. Caroline Hanes and Steve Bugeja, who I write with on the American one, they’re incredible. They’re both standups on their own right. Yeah, I just feel like without that sort of quick-on-your-feet, standup muscle, I think a writer could do the job, but they wouldn’t be able to do it in the time constraints that we have.

When doing both shows at the same time, do you even get them mixed up?  

Yeah, I have no idea who’s who at this point. We’re too early in. I’ll get there eventually. In the U.K., there’s a Yasmine and a Jasmine. I’m like, that can get in the bin. I’m already too confused. At the start, there’s a lot of me talking to people that I work with being like, “What’s their name?” I go, “Blah blah’s going over there.” But it does settle in. After about a week, I do get my head around it. It just takes me double the time.

We’re only a few weeks into season eight and viewers are already witnessing Islanders crash out this early. Do you ever find yourself laughing at the silliness and chaos of it all? 

I get quite nostalgic for my 20s when I watch it because the reason Love Island works is it involves feelings and relationships. The bottom line is that you can go in with any game plan that you want, but if someone that you like doesn’t like you back, even if it’s for a reality TV show, there’s something visceral about that. It hits you in the gut and you can see that happening.

And part of the reason they all go so crazy at the beginning is that a massive aspect of their personality is that they’ve been the good-looking one. And I don’t even mean that in a backhanded way, but there is just something about being a good-looking person that changes your stance within a social setting, and then all of a sudden that’s just taken away. There’ll be guys and girls on that show that have been rejected twice in three days that haven’t been rejected in basically their entire life. So they’re having to relearn who they are as a person. So that’s what I found really interesting.

For people who only know you by your voice, what else do you want them to know about you?  

My incredible skin. (Laughs.) I guess my standup I’d like people to know about, because that’s what I’ve been doing for 15 years. I’ve got a special on [Prime Video], which is, for those who don’t know what [Prime Video] is, it’s like Peacock, but not as good. (Laughs.) That’s what I’ve been told to explain it as. And I’ve just filmed another special that I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet, but I put that out so people can see it somewhere.

How long do you see yourself continuing to narrate both shows? 

At the minute, I absolutely adore it. I love the fast turnaround. I love being part of it. The teams are incredible. I do it from home, I can still do my children’s bedtimes and school runs and I still get two to four hours of sleep a day. So as long as I can still do all those things, I see absolutely no reason why I’d stop doing it. … Whether ITV and Peacock agree with that is another matter entirely, but I’ve not done anything insane yet, so we’re all right so far.

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New episodes of Love Island USA drop Thursdays through Tuesdays, with Love Island Aftersun airing every Saturday. Check out all of THR‘s Love Island USA season eight coverage and interviews here.