A contestant on the UK’s first gay dating show has opened up about his issues with body confidence and dating apps.

I Kissed A Boy, presented by Australian singer Dannii Minogue, saw ten single men paired up, meeting for the first time with a kiss at a romantic masseria in Italy.

Ollie, a 27-year-old road worker from Brighton, described himself as a “fun cheeky chappy lad with a sensitive side”.

However, after his new partner Ben said he was “acting like a closed book”, Ollie opened up to two other contestants about his struggles with rejection and body confidence.

He said: “My biggest issue is that I feel like I don’t want to be too much with someone if they’re not feeling it.

“I’ve experienced quite a bit of negativity and I don’t want to feel that sort of rejection.”

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Ollie described a date with another man while he was a bigger body shape.

He said: “We were on a date, he cooked dinner. It was so nice. One thing led to another and I started getting changed and he was like ‘Oh, actually, can we do this another time?’

“He was like ‘Yeah, to be honest, Ollie, it all died when you took your top off'.

“There’s so much stigma in our own community and there’s so much shame for how people look, that gay lads should look a certain way, so you don’t want to get close to anyone because you’ll just get mugged right off.”

The Argus: Ollie is one of ten contestants on the new BBC dating showOllie is one of ten contestants on the new BBC dating show (Image: BBC)

Ollie criticised the attitude of users on dating apps such as Grindr and Tinder, and said: “All the apps have desensitised everything.

“I’ve had no sensitive chats with people. I’ve not opened up. 

“This experience just feels like everything’s been refreshed. We’re all here talking to one another.

“The old school way is the best way.”

Ollie and fellow Brighton contestant Kailum both survived a “kiss-off”, where those on the show could match with another man, with those left unkissed being forced to leave the show.

Kailum, a 25-year-old travel consultant, remained coupled with 27-year-old Jake, while Ollie stayed paired with 28-year-old Ben.

I Kissed A Boy airs every Sunday and Monday at 9pm on BBC Three.