Maura Higgins explains why she might not be tuning into Love Island next year

The reality TV star also revealed that the Dancing On Ice contestants share a WhatsApp group.

Maura Higgins has hinted that she may be too busy with Dancing On Ice to watch the new series of Love Island.

The former grid girl, 29, came in fourth place alongside boyfriend Curtis Pritchard in this year’s series of Love Island, and the pair are still an item.

ITV is airing two series of the show in 2020, using a new villa in South Africa this winter before returning to Majorca in the summer.

Asked whether she planned to watch the new series, Higgins told the PA news agency: “I hope to. It’s exciting. I’ve just been busy with this.

“Probably, if I get the time, but I hope to last a long time in this. I want to be training every single day. I am very focused on this.”

The reality TV star said professional dancer Pritchard had not been able to offer her help since she began training six weeks ago.

Speaking at the series launch at Bovingdon Airfield, Hertfordshire, she said: “It’s very different. We have not practised anything. It’s very different to what he does.

“When I am out of the ice rink I like to just take my mind off it and then start fresh the next day.

“There is always something new to learn.”

Higgins also revealed that the Dancing On Ice contestants share a WhatsApp group.

She said: “It’s fun. It’s so much fun. Everyone is amazing. We get on so well.

“The banter is just crazy. There is a WhatsApp group. It never stops.”

Higgins is competing on the ITV ice-skating show alongside stars including Ian “H” Watkins and Michael Barrymore.