Love Island bosses refuse to include gay and lesbian contestants
Love Island (ITV)
Love Island bosses have finally come to a decision on whether the upcoming series should include same-sex couples.
According The Daily Star the show will only feature heterosexual contestants in 2018.
A show insider told the newspaper they “fear it wouldn’t work” if the minority of the gay and lesbian couples didn’t fancy each other and therefore didn’t get together.
(ITV2)
A spokesperson told the paper that producer Richard Cowles’ comments from last year have not changed.
He said: “The format doesn’t really allow it. If you’re familiar with the programme, it’s about coupling and re-coupling.”
While some viewers have called for a gay or bisexual version of the show, an insider revealed there were “no plans” and added: “They don’t think gay contestants will work”.
The news will comes as a surprise after it appeared Love Island had accepted the idea yesterday.
Not a single gay person has been included in the show.
(ITV2)
In 2016, bi contestants Sophie Gradon and Katie Salmon paired up on the programme, but were told to romance a man if they wanted to be in with a chance to win the £50,000 cash prize.
A source close to the series previously said that LGBT singletons will be cast in the 2018 series.
“Love Island was undoubtedly the biggest reality show this year, it had everyone talking. Even people who weren’t watching the show still heard about it,” said a source to The Daily Star.
“The main thing they came under fire for was sex on TV, which people have now started to accept, so come next series people won’t really care about that. ITV want to increase the shock factor of the show and keep people talking, by having LGBT people included,” they added.
ITV 2’s Head of Digital Channels, Paul Mortimer said last year: “I know Richard (the show’s exec producer) said, maybe with tongue-in-cheek, that we might do a gay version one day.”
