I upset a lot of people in Love Island last time, ITV had to hire me a bodyguard, reveals Adam Collard

ADAM Collard has revealed that ITV had to give him a bodyguard when he first left the villa in 2018 due to his ‘toxic’ behaviour. 

The Geordie PT was branded a ‘gaslighter’ and Women’s Aid issued a warning to the channel over his treatment of the girls. 

Adam said: “ITV gave us a bodyguard for like for the first week because there was some women who weren’t happy with some of the stuff I did in there. So when I got out it was just nuts, a crazy crazy experience.

“I definitely thought ‘what if this doesn’t stop, like what if people think this forever’ – as in the bad boy thing, like he does what he wants.”

Adam felt that in hindsight it was the pressure of the telly villa that got to him. 

He added in a 2019 blog post with MuscleFood: “My family, it was probably harder for them. Even my dad said to me he could tell that the way I was being wasn’t all me.

“So even he said it was nothing like my personality the way I dealt with things. 

“I was definitely worried about people’s opinions not changing until I went onto a few talk shows and then people started to understand the crack a bit more.”

Despite the backlash, Adam became one of the ITV2 show’s most successful exports and has built a £1 million fitness empire. 

Chatting to the athletic nutrition brand, the lad added: “After Love Island I’ve worked with brands such as MuscleFood, brands that weirdly enough was probably anything I ever wanted. I have Nocco which I’ve bought for years, MuscleFood which I’ve bought for years and I’ve been sponsored by Reebok which is a dream if you’re into fitness.

“After Love Island life went a little crazy and I had about 6 months of nightclub tours so I was living off service station food pretty much and doing the best I could with gyms. 

“My body just went rubbish in my standards, it was the worst I’ve ever looked for like five years.”

Adam looks to have targeted Paige Thorne, 24, and Danica Taylor, 21, since arriving in the Mallorca villa.

ITV has an extensive list of duty of care protocols while welfare services offered to islanders include comprehensive psychological support, detailed conversations with Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show, a proactive aftercare package which extends support to all Islanders following their participation on the show and guidance and advice on taking on management after the show.

A welfare team is also solely dedicated to the Islanders both during the show and after.