Curtis Pritchard's widely-panned Hollyoaks cameo with brother AJ re-emerges after professional dancer, 28, is confirmed for Love Island line-up

Curtis Pritchard's widely-panned cameo on Hollyoaks with his brother AJ has re-emerged after the ballroom dancer-turned-reality star's return to Love Island: All Stars was announced on Tuesday.

The series five star, 28, is among those confirmed to be heading to the South Africa villa next week when Love Island: All Stars returns to screens.

In 2021, he and his brother played twins Marco and Jacob in Hollyoaks; but their scenes soon went viral due to their 'wooden' acting.

In particular, Curtis's delivery of the line, 'How's Trish?', was mocked by viewers unsure whether the brothers were plotting to murder long-time character Trish Minniver or throw her a surprise party.

Other soap stars - such as former EastEnders regular Michael Greco and Hollyoaks' own Parry Glasspool - hit out at the Pritchards and slammed casting directors for hiring them, when there were trained actors looking for roles. 

Gerard McCarthy, 43 – who is best known for playing Hollyoaks' Kris Fisher for four years – penned: 'The next time a producer/casting director says the words "but they have a big social media following"…. Just point them in the direction of this absolute car crash!'

Michael responded: 'I think people can watch this and learn so much from it. How "not" to act. Shocking.'

It was announced in February 2021 that the brothers would be joining the Hollyoaks cast as twins who help open a dance school on the soap.

Parry – who played Harry Thompson in Hollyoaks – took to social media to write: 'To be clear, I have no problem with people using reality TV to accelerate a career in which they've trained or shown interest in.

'But it's agonising to watch. The pain of knowing that anyone else landing a part on a successful soap takes training, previous credits, a load of castings and auditions before you are even considered for a role. 

'In this day and age, it's probably easier to jet off to Majorca and go on Love Island than to be in with a chance of securing acting jobs.

'When young actors look on after countless rejections to see the part they went for has been snatches up by someone who "wants to be the kind of guy that makes everyone coffee in the morning", it's enough to make you want to give up.'

AJ and Curtis later reacted to the backlash they faced for appearing in the Channel 4 soap. 

In a chat with OK! Magazine, Curtis, who was 25 at the time, claimed he wasn't aware of the slew of memes and clips circulating the internet branding their scenes 'painful to watch'.

He said: 'Up to this moment I felt absolutely nothing about it because I hadn't realised anybody had said anything. We always get that, we always get different things and for me it's always about positivity.

AJ added: 'I've learned to go for the positives and not the negatives. If someone's got constructive criticism, 100 per cent that's great, but if it's just negativity then it's not something I'm going to waste my energy and time on that.'

Talking about originally being cast on the soap, AJ said: 'I can't believe we will be featuring on Hollyoaks, we have grown up with the show on TV and it's always been one of our favourite serial dramas.

'Our characters are fantastic, and we can't wait for everyone to see how we bring them to life.'

Curtis added: 'I am so excited to be working with my brother AJ on a show we grew up watching! I am also excited to continue our journey together with Channel 4 & E4.'

The dancer, who first appeared in the show back in 2019, is set to return for Love Island: All Stars, leaving his ex Maura Higgins 'worried' he might spill secrets about their past relationship. 

'I feel like I'm in a different stage in my life,' Curtis explained. 'The idea of settling down is a serious idea in my life right now. I haven't found my true love… that sounds so cheesy doesn't it.'

'So, I thought, let's give it another go. It was great fun last time; a lot of emotions. I feel excited to go back. I'm going to have a great fun time and hopefully leave with someone. It's exciting.'

Curtis admitted there is one key moment from his last appearance on the show that 'follows me everywhere' - his infamous  'making coffee in the morning' blunder. 

He quipped that he will be taking some advice from his villa ex Amy Hart, admitting 'in hindsight, if I do find a girl this time, I will perhaps cuddle her in bed rather than make coffee… so Amy taught me a lesson'.

I'm A Celeb star Maura, 34, and the professional dancer, 28, first connected in the villa, where the pair ended up finishing in fourth place.

Despite their initial spark, the romance fizzled out and they parted ways just eight months later amid rumours of infidelity on both sides - allegations they have both denied.

While Maura recently made a splash on TV with her stint in the jungle - where she spoke candidly about dating TOWIE star Pete Wicks, Curtis is also set for his own comeback to the spotlight.

A source told The Sun: 'Curtis signing for All Stars is more than awkward for Maura just as she's fallen for Pete and they've finally gone public with their love.

'Her break-up with Curtis wasn't the best and Maura always worried he'd be the ex that could blab. It's also less than ideal when she's hoping to build on her I'm A Celebrity profile and advance her career.

It comes after Maura discussed her experience on Love Island on Paul C Brunson's We Need To Talk podcast.

Speaking about her ex Curtis, she described him as a 'why not' man, explaining she only dated him due to there being limited options in the villa.

She said: 'When you're locked in a house, I say locked but you're in a house and you're in there for X amount of time. You're going to start liking people that you wouldn't normally like.

'Not to be mean but you are, you're in there. I'm pretty sure it would probably be the same on Big Brother. You're locked in a house; you're not seeing any other men. You're going to be like 'why not'.

AJ, meanwhile, shot to fame as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, which he left in 2020, and appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!