Jack Keating says he ‘can crack anything’ after Love Island and is set to star on new dating show

The son of Boyzone singer, Ronan Keating, entered the latter Casa Amor stages of Love Islandin July, hoping to turn on the charm.

Sadly Jack (23) didn’t find the connection he was looking for, but he’s not bitter – and claims he would have regretted turning down the “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

“It’s a bit of a jarring situation to be in,” he told theIrish Independent.

“You go in there as part of six lads moving towards six girls who are already coupled up, so it was tough and it definitely put me out of my comfort zone, but I loved it.”

Jack confesses it was his sister, former Dancing with the Stars contestant Missy (21), who helped him secure his spot on the show.

“She gets scouted pretty much every year to do Love Island,” he said.

“Yet she moved to Australia at the end of the August and wants to go down the whole acting route.

“I know she’s going to kill it. And if you’d have asked me a year ago if I’d consider doing Love Island, I’d have said you were crazy.

“It was never something I was into, but Missy and I were having a few drinks one night and the subject came up.

“I thought to myself if I didn’t do it, I’d look back in 10 years’ time and I’d hate myself for it.”

Several of the previous participants on the show have been the offspring of famous parents, including EastEnders actor Danny Dyer’s daughter, Dani – who was the eventual winner in 2018.

But Jack – who recently moved from Dublin to London – explains that his showbiz connections didn’t make life any easier when it came to being cast for the ITV show.

“I had to apply, and there were so many different interviews I’d to do.

“The hoops they made you jump through is just gas, and I was constantly at the ITV studios.

“I also made an introduction video where I was sitting in my back garden with a beer in my hand and the top off, saying I can’t wait to get into the villa and meet lots of lovely girls.”

However, he ended up in the doghouse with his pop star father Ronan (45) following a comment he made about him on the show.

“I did say he was retired at some point during the show, so he was not happy about that. ‘I almost fell out of my chair’, is what he said when he heard it first.

“What I meant to say was he was retired from Boyzone, but he was touring right now, so I was in the doghouse a little bit when I got back after that. Although we had a bit of craic about it when I got home.”

Jack also reveals that a conversation with Gemma Owen, daughter of former football player Michael Owen, was filmed more than once.

“Basically, Gemma and I had our chat by the pool, and then we split.

“But shortly afterwards producers asked us to have the same discussion again.

“We had a lot of things in common, and she’s a gorgeous girl who I got on very well with.

“They didn’t show a lot of me and Paige [Thorne], which was weird, and I wondered why.”

But the whole experience has clearly been a positive one.

“I’m doing another TV show in the next couple of weeks. It’s also a dating show, but that’s all I can say for now. I’ve just done Love Island so I feel like I can crack anything at this stage.”