I Kissed A Girl season 2 cast on sparks flying, kiss-offs and show axe

I Kissed A Girl is finally back on screens for season 2, bringing a group of single queer women together for a long, hot summer of fun.

The first four episodes debuted on BBC iPlayer on 23 June (coinciding with the heatwave blasting the UK!) and it’s safe to say sparks are already flying.

For those living under a rock, the show sees pairings of girls meet for the first time to share a kiss, before they move into a stunning Italian masseria, all as host Dannii Minogue watches from afar.

It was confirmed earlier this year that the show, which also had two seasons of I Kissed A Boy, would end after the current run finished airing.

“It’s bittersweet,” Faye says, speaking to PinkNews. “We’re definitely going out with a bang, reminding everyone that we’re still here. I’m very grateful to have been a part of it, and how exciting that that can live on and stay in people’s conversations.”

Nikita agrees, saying: “In the queer community, I Kissed is such a big thing. It’s talked about among the queer community so much, so it is a shame, but like Faye said, so grateful to actually have lived that experience and get to share it over the world.”

“It is ridiculously disappointing that it’s being cancelled,” adds Imogen. “Everyone’s got their opinions on that, and it is so rubbish, but to be able to have been a part of the last ever I Kissed A Girl is such a proud moment. It’s such an honour to have been a part of it, we’ll just have to go out with a bang.”

And with just four episodes out so far (two more each Tuesday for the next three weeks), they are certainly already bringing it.

Things kick off with the first kiss, with the girls telling us there were seriously nervous.

“You’re sweating and everything before, you don’t know what to do,” Ebony tells us.

Nikita adds: “I was honestly so scared. My mouth was so dry. I thought I’d forgot how to kiss. Genuinely one of the scariest moments of my life, I’m not even being dramatic about it.”

“All that was going through my head was, like, ‘Oh my God, what if I know her?'” Imogen says. And as it turns out, some of the cast did know each other.

“It’s awful out there,” she jokes. “I don’t think I have ever spoke to somebody that doesn’t know one of my exes or doesn’t know one of my ex’s exes, or my friends. Everybody is connected. I live in Manchester – I could speak to somebody that lives in London and they still know somebody that I know.”

“It’s a hard life being a lesbian,” Ebony laughs.

Before long in the masseria, connections start to form – whether that’s romantic or platonic – and initial couples start to drift.

Ashlea tells us: “It’s difficult because you’re trying to find your feet by yourself, getting to know people, get to know your match, internalising all that, as well as trying to be entertaining. But everyone was really welcoming and lovely.”

Faye says: “We all got on so well as people, especially for the first night, we were all just having such a laugh, it was so much fun. I kept forgetting that I’m here to flirt and fancy people – you’ve got to get your head back in the game!”

Ashlea adds: “You’d be lounging around the pool, and you’d be like, ‘Oh, actually, I need to get a graft on!'”

Some girls went in with a strict idea of who they were looking for, but in the masseria, it all goes out the beautifually architected windows.

“One of the coolest things about being on the show was having that exposure to people from all different types of background and walks of life,” says Nikita. “We all got to have time, no distractions, just chatting to people. We got to learn so much more.

“It really helped open my mind and my knowledge, especially about queerness, because I do have queer friends, but these are queer friends from different walks of life.”

One person who went for someone outside of their usual type was Ashlea. She says: “Getting with Renee, she on paper is not my normal type that I’d go for out on the outside – masc, and is a friend beforehand. But in there, when you have such deep conversations with people and all you have to do is talk and understand them and their lives, you do fall into a trap of like actually falling for the person rather than basing it on looks alone.”

Imogen also explores a connection with Ebony, with the pair having known each other beforehand, which Imogen says was a “shock”.

“We’d never ever spoken in that way,” she tells us. “It had always just been platonic and typically I’m not Ebony’s type, so that definitely shocked me. I normally do just go off looks, and I’m not saying that Ebony’s not beautiful, you are, but I would typically stick to my type, regardless of their personality.”

But, Tyra says: “You couldn’t be super surprised about anything, because we were in a situation where we had to completely throw ourselves out of our comfort zones and explore things we wouldn’t typically explore.”

Soon, the dreaded “Kiss Off” approaches, in which girls must kiss their current partner, or save their kiss for another girl in the hope that they do the same. Anyone left unkissed is sadly sent packing.

“It’s very intense,” says Ashlea, “mortifying. You don’t see, but filming of that is hours on end, waiting around for everyone’s decisions. It’s very intense. Cold as well, because it’s night.”

Faye agrees, saying: “It’s very surreal, because you go from having a laugh with your friends in one to everything’s just so intense. You’re all stood there thinking, I’ve been living this up and I could just be going home now.”

“You’re riddled with anxiety,” Imogen says. “Even when you are so confident that this person is gonna kiss you, you don’t know what’s gonna happen. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

Tyra adds: “Like Immy said, you can be so sure that you’re staying, but you’re gonna lose someone with this. So it’s like, ‘Okay, yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be fine, by my friend might not be.'”

Luckily, Ms Minogue is on hand to keep everyone calm. “She just made you feel loved in that moment,” Faye says, “like she was rooting for you.”

Ashlea adds: “She actually took the time to get to know us, our pairings, and understood why we were together, and our own individual journeys.”

Unfortunately, some journeys were cut short, but the girls are all leaving the show with a sense of pride that they showed up for queer women out there, especially during a time when the LGBTQ+ community faces constant attacks.

Imogen says: “I feel a lot more compassion for the lesbians that fit the stereotype of looking like a lesbian, because when you visibly look that way it’s a lot harder and you’re more prone to abuse. For me, if I don’t tell someone I’m a lesbian, it’s not a problem – apart from having to come out to literally every single person that I speak to.

“At the moment, in the media and even in person, in some way we’re backtracking. Like, it’s 2026, why is this still a problem?”

Tyra adds: “The younger generation, what message does it send to them? Finally we were in this space where we have shows like I Kissed A Girl, queer women were very much in the public eye – like the first season totally changed my perception of myself, inwards I was like, ‘Wow, finally people in the media I can relate to.’ To have that taken away so soon after it being given to us, I think that’s a really scary message to the younger generation.

“I just hope we can do something to push that message of, we don’t belong on the side. I hope we continue to be loud and proud about it.”

I Kissed A Girl is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

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