ITV’s top boss has said they will “sit down and review” Love Island when the controversial series comes to an end on Monday.
The dating show has been smacked with more than 5,000 complaints to Ofcom in the past two weeks – with many relating to alleged misogynistic behaviour by some of the male contestants.
Quizzed about the volume of complaints today and whether there would be an editorial review, he admitted: “We continually assess a programme as it is going on because it is one of these odd every night live sort of shows.
“But when the series comes to an end on Monday, we will always sit down and review what we think about it, what the reaction has been, how well it has done.”
Despite the concern from thousands of fans, he noted how successful the series has in fact been.
“And we have to say this year, remember, it is the best one we have had in many years and I think everyone is thoroughly enjoying it,” he continued.
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“To get five million people to watch a show every night at 9 o’clock is extraordinary in the modern era, so something is being done right.
“But you are right, we must always look to improve and work on what we have done. But we are very happy with the way it has gone so far.”
Ofcom is assessing the complaints against its broadcasting rules, but is yet to decide whether to investigate.
Yesterday The Sun told how over 1,500 viewers contacted Ofcom after the Snog, Marry, Pie episode, with most of the upset sparked by the boys’ misogynistic behaviour towards the girls in the aftermath of the game.
They came just come just a week after the show was hit with over 3,000 complaints following the Movie Night episode.
Fans felt that Ekin-Su had been unfairly targeted – as did her angry family.
Laura Whitmore’s AfterSun received 427 complaints about the same topic.
At the start of the show, Love Island was hit with hundreds of complaints over Gemma Owen’s age when she kissed Davide, 27.
Many felt she was too young to be in the show and were further outraged when they discovered she was just 16 when she dated ex boyfriend Jacques.
In May 2019, ITV released a new set of duty of care processes ahead of the fifth series, which was later won by Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea.
They updated those processes for the most recent series and began giving inclusion training, including language and behaviour, to contestants ahead of them entering the villa.
