Love Island winner Ekin-Su represented Ireland in a worldwide beauty pageant

The 27-year-old was crowned the winner of the hit ITV dating show with her partner Davide Sanclimenti on Monday night and viewers have had a ball watching her on their screens for the past two months.

Gemma Owen and Luca Bish placed second, followed by Dubliner Dami Hope and his partner Indiyah Polack, while Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page came in fourth place.

But it turns out that Dami wasn’t the only finalist to fly the flag for Ireland this year, as Ekin-Su once represented the country in a beauty pageant.

Photos from her portfolio show the Love Island champion, who is half Turkish, competing as Miss Ireland in the 2011 Miss Asia Pacific World pageant when she was just 18.

At the time, she called herself Susie “Su” Hayzel and strutted down the catwalk dressed as a leprechaun before changing into a white bikini – perhaps a trial run for her stint on Love Island.

On the profile, Ekin-Su noted that she “grew up in London but moved to Loughton (Essex) when I was 10”.

She added: “Passionate about my career, I am an intelligent, zealous and highly creative person who is inspired by success, and am passionate about learning and personal development.

“I am inspired by acting, dance and music all of which allow me to demonstrate and nurture the creative, emotive and confident nature of my personality.

“I believe that it is imperative to adopt a positive and proactive approach to both my personal and professional life.”

Ekin-Su listed some of her achievements on her portfolio, which includes singing for “many charities”, auditioning for The X Factor, and taking part in several musical productions such as West Side Story and High School Musical, where in both cases she snatched the lead roles.

She also said that some of her favourite things she’s done have been “participating in worldwide beauty pageants”, travelling around “many places in Asia modelling catwalks”, “shooting glamour modelling”, and appearing in music videos.

“I haven't featured in a film before but my dream [is] to accomplish that. No matter what role being given I will work my very best,” she wrote, meaning Davide may have been onto something when he called her a “liar” and an “actress” in the villa.