Love Island stars mobbed at Stansted airport as they lap up their first taste of fame after arriving back home
LOVE Island's final four couples received a rapturous hero's welcome as they returned home to the UK.
The stars of the ITV2 show were mobbed by friends, family and admiring fans as they arrived back at Stansted Airport following a morning flight from Mallorca.
The arrivals hall at the airport was swamped with people desperate to clap eyes on this year's final eight islanders.
As well as colourful banners and signs welcoming home contestants, there were tears of joy and excitement as loved ones rushed forward to greet the villa stars.
Others wanted selfies with the young couples, while some requested autographs.
The show's winners, Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies, and the other three pairs seemed overwhelmed by the attention and adulation.
It's the first time in seven weeks that most of them have set foot in the UK.
Those who entered the villa at the very start of the programme have spent more than two months over in Mallorca filming the dating show, which came to an end on Monday night.
As you'd expect, there were plenty of tears with Kem looking particularly moved to be re-uniting with his mates.
He was seen admiring the banner they've brought before joining them for a group hug.
His girlfriend Amber, meanwhile, was welcomed home with posters emblazoned with her name.
She was snapped being enveloped in a huge hug by her loved ones.
Kem and Amber won the £50,000 prize after being named the winners of Love Island 2017.
In a twist, they were each handed an envelope by Love Island host Caroline Flack: one contained nothing and one contained the whole £50,000.
The person with the £50k then had the choice to steal the cash or split it.
It was Kem who ended up with the prize money and, without hesitating, said of course he'd be sharing it. "Well obviously we’ll be splitting it!" he laughed, when asked by Caroline for his decision.
Runners-up Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt posed for the cameras at Stansted looking blissfully happy.
Although they didn't put a label on their relationship in the villa, they did have sex and have said they're excited about the future.
Elsewhere, Chris Hughes seemed a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of people at the airport as he made his way towards his loved ones.
Joined by girlfriend, who finished with him in third place, the hunky reality star embraced his pals after a lengthy stint away from home.
Marcel Somerville and Gabby Allen, meanwhile, were greeted with big posters held up by proud family members.
One cheeky poster even joked: "I used to be in Blazin' Squad!"
They finished in fourth place on Monday night's finale and joked to host Caroline they were looking forward to "doing the deed" after making a pact not to have sex on TV.
The couples were seen arriving at the Majorca airport earlier today, having swapped their bikinis and swimming shorts for proper clothing.
They were all spotted checking in before boarding a Jet2 flight, which offers seats from just £17, and they couldn't keep their hands off each other.
It was not only the couples who looked close at the airport - Love Island best pals Kem and Chris were also seen spending time together at the terminal.
Kem looked engrossed in conversation with Chris as he pushed suitcases on a trolley.
Their appearance at the airport was shown on This Morning today as former contestant Chloe Crowhurst presented a live link from the airport.
Chloe was seen chatting to her fellow islanders and hugging them, as fans crowded around and began asking the stars to pose for selfies.
They later shared a group selfie from the plane on the runway as they waited for take off.