'Love Island's' Iain Stirling is ready to voice the US show: 'America, I'm coming for you'

Over in the United Kingdom, the voice of comedian Iain Stirling is a summer staple.

His Scottish accent is a signal that the hit dating show “Love Island” is back on television for several weeks of near-daily episodes in which young, thin, able-bodied Europeans date each other in a Spanish villa while being filmed every minute of the day.

While the series is well into its eighth season overseas (and streaming in the U.S. on Hulu), the show’s U.S. iteration will also return this month — with a couple of changes.

“Love Island” USA, which previously aired six days per week on CBS, will now stream almost nightly on Peacock starting July 19 with a new batch of islanders who mostly hail from the States. It will look and sound a little different, with two new stars at the helm: Actress Sarah Hyland will host, and Stirling will do the voiceover narration for the first time.

This means Stirling will remotely write and narrate both shows, which film and air almost in real-time, simultaneously.

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Who narrates ‘Love Island?’

Iain Stirling, 34, is practically synonymous with “Love Island” UK, having lent his voice to all eight seasons that have aired since 2015. This will be his first time voicing an overseas show.

Even before “Love Island” USA has begun filming, the BAFTA-winning comedian — who is married to the host of the UK show, Laura Whitmore — realized that some of the jokes and phrases that are the bread and butter of the British show won’t translate for  American viewers.

“I think the hardest thing will be the language,” Stirling told The Arizona Republic. “I don't even know what you call it if someone mugs someone off. I don't even know what you'd say. What do you call that in America when a boy is mugging you off?”

For those who don't know, “mug off” means to make someone look stupid through deception or mistreatment, especially in a romantic relationship.

Here’s what else Stirling had to say about joining “Love Island” USA and his thoughts on how Season 8 of “Love Island” UK is going.

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How Iain Stirling will juggle 'Love Island' USA and UK

Question: You’re an incredible narrator, and I enjoy listening to you every single day on "Love Island" UK. And now, with two shows, we’ll be listening to you for 12 hours or so each week.

Answer: The people that are into "Love Island," they're in for a long haul. I'm getting paid, and even I'm like, "This is a lot of 'Love Island,'" but it's great, right?

Q: You must be incredibly busy. I'm afraid of asking what your schedule is like. How are you going to make recording for both shows work with your life?

A: It's a bit wild, and I'm very fortunate because the people at Peacock are sort of, like, very aware of how full-on it is, and they've done everything to make it possible that I can do this and sort of do things like, you know, sleep and see my family and eat, things like that.

Everything's in LA for the American show, apart from the writing team.

We've basically got two huts next to each other, and me and Mark (Busk-Cowley) will write the British one. And then the second we finish recording that, we go into the American room — I was going to say office, but that makes it sound too good — and go inside the American box. We'll help those guys write what they've written so far and sort of let them know things we would and wouldn't say.

And also we learn stuff, like Americans don't know what grafting is! I found this out today.

(Grafting means wooing or flirting with someone to get them to like you.)

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Why voicing 'Love Island' USA is different from the British show

Q: Your quips and jokes are so specifically British. Will you need to study up on American geography and culture?

A: I think — and I'm sure Americans do know this — but literally, like, half of our news feed is American news, American politics. If you go to the politics section of the BBC website, half of it will be U.S. politics.

Culturally, I think, we're sort of all right. All the TV shows, I sort of get. The sports, I don't understand. I don't get that. Basketball is cool. But why is soccer not the best sport? It's mad; it's the best game. It's so good.

I think the hardest thing will be the language in terms of, like, I don't even know what you call it if someone mugs someone off. I don't even know what you'd say. What do you call that in America when a boy is mugging you off? What would you say? I wouldn’t know.

Q: He makes me look like a fool?

A: That’s nowhere near as good, is it?

(Phrases) like ‘mugged off’ weren’t a thing before "Love Island." So hopefully America will get to invent, sort of, their own vernacular and come up with our own little phrases and make it feel unique to them, do you know what I mean? I would love to get an American (version of) … mugged off, et cetera. So we’ll see how it goes.

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There's no shortage of drama to narrate

Q: Do you ever get stumped on what to say, or do the islanders truly provide all the material you could possibly need?

A: Generally speaking, we’re OK. But yeah, there are definitely days, especially if a couple’s been together from the very beginning, they've not really had much happen, like they've been pretty solid.

Like, take Gemma and Luca (on the UK show). Well, that's actually not a great example because Luca works in a fish market, so it's, like, believe me: I could do that all day.

But, you know, like a couple that's not really gone through any struggles and they’ve been together since week one, and you get to, like, week six and you're like, "I have run out of ways of saying, "Here are these two people" in a funny way.

Generally speaking, there’s always something going on. There's always something happening that makes it, you know, vaguely humorous.

'Love Island' USA cast is 'mad good looking'

Q: Have you had a chance to look at the U.S. cast?

A: I’ve literally seen pictures. I always try to not see anything because I basically only want to know about the people what's being said on the TV show because that's the only thing I can make jokes about.

I have noticed they are mad good-looking. Like the British one, they're really good-looking. But this is, like, insane.

Islanders who cause drama make 'Love Island' narrating easier

Q: Do you tend to have a favorite islander? Or do you like all of them equally?

A: I think everyone brings different stuff and also there's different reasons to love them, do you know what I mean? So there's people I love as a person who watches the show, like, I think someone's really adorable or cool or funny.

And then there's people I love as the narrator because they cause drama. Or, I don't know, they work in a fish market, for example, and then you're like, "Oh, these people are great because they make my job so much easier."

("Love Island" UK contestant Luca Bish sells fish for a living, and Stirling has no shortage of puns about this on Season 8.)

So I've got, sort of, two hearts, kind of like the fan — I'm such a big fan of the show — and then I'm (also) the guy that does the voiceover who's like, "We need jokes today." Some people just are funny, and you think, "Yeah, that was easy." And others it’s more difficult.

Q: I’m glad you haven’t revealed any spoilers, because I think in the U.S. we are maybe two weeks behind on UK episodes.

A: Oh my god. Well, how far behind are you? Has Joe Biden gone in yet?

Q: I missed that. I can’t believe that hasn’t been spoiled for us!

The trick to doing voiceovers for American viewers: 'Talk a little slower'

Q: So you’ve done more than 300 episodes of "Love Island" UK. Do you feel like you’re ready for this new frontier? Do you need anything else to prep for this new U.S. season?

A: I just need to talk a little bit slower, that's all. I've been practicing talking slower. I don't think my accent is hard to understand. Some of the islanders, like the Welsh people and the people from Essex, stuff like that, they're really hard. I don't think I'm as hard to understand as them.

I'm really trying to give my best with clarity, slow things down, make America work a little less hard to understand me, basically. Other than that, I'm raring to go.

Q: I can’t wait for U.S. viewers to learn more about Iain Stirling.

A: Hey, America: I'm coming for you.

How to watch Season 4 of 'Love Island' USA

"Love Island" USA Season 4 streams on Peacock beginning 6 p.m. MST on Tuesday, July 19. 

The show will air new episodes at 6 p.m. MST Tuesdays-Sundays; Saturday episodes will be recaps that include unaired clips.

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Love Island USA' narrator shares what to expect from the 2022 show