Is Love Island on the rocks? Show could see the beginning of the end
Is Love Island on the rocks? The hit ITV show bans contestants from growing Instagram followings during filming with fashion insiders predicting it could spark the beginning of the end
- Pretty Little Thing will not be signing anyone from the most recent series
- It’s claimed it was because the winners had a far lower Instagram following
Fashion insiders are predicting the end of Love Island in the wake of a social-media ban which means that contestants can’t grow their following during the show.
They say that potential high-calibre applicants don’t want to take part because it has become more difficult to bag a big social-influencing deal when their time on the programme comes to an end. It’s claimed that applicant numbers for the next series have already slumped.
Last week, online fast-fashion giant Pretty Little Thing – whose ambassadors include former Love Islanders Molly-Mae Hague and Gemma Owen – revealed to The Mail on Sunday that it will not sign anyone from the most recent series.
It’s been claimed this was because the winners had a far lower Instagram following than previous contestants.
An industry insider told the MoS it is ‘the beginning of the end’ for the show.
Fast-fashion giant Pretty Little Thing, whose ambassadors include former Love Islanders Molly-Mae Hague (right) and Gemma Owen, (left) revealed it won’t sign anyone from the recent series
The source said: ‘There are fewer applicants for Love Island this summer. The ban has exposed what we all know: that the show is all about landing lucrative deals, not finding love.’
ITV bosses announced the move for the most recent series. It meant contestants could no longer ask friends or family members to run their social-media accounts while they took part.
While contestants are not allowed internet access when they are in the Love Island villa, they are asked to also shut down their profiles during the show.
The rule was put in place in an attempt to protect contestants from being attacked by online trolls while the show is on air and to stop their families from witnessing the online abuse.
This has resulted in participants leaving the show with a smaller following than previously seen. The day after the series final last Monday, the winners, Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan, had 173,000 and 153,000 Instagram followers respectively.
In comparison, Gemma Owen, footballer Michael Owen’s daughter, finished the summer series in August 2022 with over a million followers – having gained 920,000 during the show. This year, there are no contestants with more than a million followers on Instagram.
A spokesman for ITV insisted that summer applications are ‘on a par’ with recent series, adding that ‘the primary objective with applicants is that we find people who are looking for love’.
It’s been claimed this was because the winners had a far lower Instagram following than previous contestants. This year’s winners: Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan
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