Love Island won’t have LGBT contestants or spin off, says ITV2 boss
Bosses at the top of ITV2 have said that LGBT contestants will not be included in the next season of Love Island.
The show will not have an LGBT+ specific spin off either.
The show became the most-watched of the summer for the broadcaster, pulling in over three million viewers.
An LGBT+ version of the show was hinted at after creator Richard Cowles said that he wanted to produce a more diverse version.
Cowles said: “I would like to see what a gay version of the show would be.
“You are trying to create couples,” he added. “It is not impossible and it is not something that we shy away from…but there is a logistical element which makes it difficult.”
ITV’s Head of Digital Channels, Paul Mortimer, has since rebuked Cowles suggestions.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival Mortimer claimed that an LGBT+ version of the Mallorca-based show would not work.
He said: “The format doesn’t really allow it. If you’re familiar with the programme, it’s about coupling and recoupling.”
“To complicate it with same-sex relationships is to take something away from the format.”
Mortimer added that Cowles’ claims were “tongue-in-cheek” and that they had to move in a “careful” direction with the show.
“I know Richard said, maybe with tongue-in-cheek, that we might do a gay version one day.
“For the moment, we’re treading very carefully with Love Island, we don’t want to over egg the pudding.”
He added that it was the same reason they were not doing a “winter version”.
“That’s why we’re not doing a winter version of Love Island. We’re doing another show that borrows a bit from Love Island, but it’s not Love Island,” Mortimer concluded.
