LOVE Island star Patsy Field has broken her silence on Joey Essex’s admission he was a producer plant.
The star lived alongside the reality TV veteran for weeks inside the Majorcan villa but has confessed that she believes he did get “special treatment” as a result of his celebrity status.
Joey previously admitted that he would “switch it on” when needed to by producers during his exclusive sit-down with The Sun.
Now, Patsy has had her say and suggested that his appearance was “years in the making”.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun at the National Reality TV Awards, Patsy said: “I think there was [special treatment].
“They signed him at the end of the day. And I think it was a couple of years in the making, maybe, it’s Joey Essex.
“They’ve [producers] got rules to lay down with us.
“He’s got his own rules to lay down with them to say, yes, I’m going to go on. So I think there was special treatment.”
Patsy was among the crop of finalists who were invited back to the show in order to dump the last couple before the final.
The majority of the Islanders opted to axe Joey and his villa partner Jessy Potts which Patsy insisted was the right decision despite wanting Jessy to make it all the way of her own accord.
She added to The Sun: “I think I feel bad for Jessy because, obviously, she is just like a normal member of the public so she does deserve to be in the final.
“But with Joey, it’s just like another dating show for him.
“So I really wanted it to be all normal, genuine couples and make sure that they was there for the right reasons and I do think we got that in the end.
Elsewhere, Patsy admitted that all Islanders were forced to lock in their votes before heading to the firepit.
She revealed that they all individually spoke with the executive producer to confirm which couple they wanted to dump in order to allow them to create an order of names to be revealed to have the biggest impact.
Patsy said: “They were completely open to whoever you wanted to pick, but you did have a chat with the executive producers beforehand and they were like, ‘right, hey, once you decide, you can’t change it’ because they do need to know kind of what way it’s going.
“But it was our own choice who we wanted to pick.
“We thought if we have to decide in couples or as a group, there’s no chance we’re getting a decision because everyone wanted to go differently.
“But, yeah, we’re happy that we all got to say our bit. It was not nice to send someone home, but…”
Patsy left the villa alongside Munveer after failing to find a solid connection in the villa.
During an interview with The Sun, Joey admitted that he did feel like a producer plant during his time on the show.
Joey told us: “We’re all there to find love but there needs to be a journey, there needs to be drama – so, you know, I had to be that guy.
“I’d switch it on. I’d do my scene. If I was involved in someone else’s stuff it’s because I’ve been pulled in and dragged into that situation.
“I’ve just done what I’ve done because I’m filming a television show.”
Questioned about if he was the producers’ man on the ground, Joey told us: “I was put in a situation where I had to do what I had to do. Do you know what I mean? I’m there for a reason. I’m in Love Island to entertain.
“I didn’t really have much time off… I was very, very busy, active.
“I mean, do your readers actually think that I would go up to a girl in a challenge and kiss her in front of her boyfriend, whilst the girl that I actually have feelings for is stood next to her?”
