WHEN LOVE ISLAND first hit our screens in 2005, it was a different iteration of the show that we know now. Back then it ran for two seasons, was focused on celebrities, and its presenters were Patrick Kielty and Kelly Brook.

On this version of the show, celebrities like Calum Best and Lady Isabella Harvey were sent to an island in Fiji to try and couple up and win £100,000. It wasn’t a big hit, and was cancelled after two seasons.

But in 2015, it was revived. This time it starred real people and the new presenter was Caroline Flack. This version of Love Island proved to be a massive hit, and the 13th season (presented by Maya Jama and narrated by Iain Stirling) is wrapping up on 27 July.  

But while Love Island has been a ratings hit, it’s also been very controversial at times – so much so that there’s a new documentary coming out on Prime Video on 26 July called The Curse of Love Island.

But what do we know about this programme?

Controversy

Love Island isn’t the type of show that on paper seems like it would attract scandals as dark as it has. It involves a group of contestants, called ‘islanders’, being sent to a villa on a Mallorca island. They ‘couple up’ with each other and the final remaining couple wins £50,000.

This isn’t a show about finding a love match, but a match that will withstand the scrutiny and whims of the public, because the public can vote for their favourite couples in order to eliminate others.

The islanders are all filmed, Big Brother style, throughout their stay. So audiences can form very strong opinions on the contestants – and so too can the media. The show has been responsible for some contestants becoming very famous, like Molly-Mae Hague and Maura Higgins, who were both able to turn their time on the show into new high-profile careers.

But sadly there have been two contestants who in the years after their time on the show took their own lives: Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis. While there are many factors which contribute to people taking their own lives, their deaths, coupled with concerns about online trolling of contestants, saw the producers putting more psychological supports in place for participants.

Another tragedy occurred when Love Island presenter Caroline Flack took her own life in 2020. She had already stepped down from presenting the show.

While Love Island remains a ratings success, the concerns about the ITV show have reached all the way to the British government.

As Pandora Sykes and Sirin Kale said in their article about the scandals for the BBC:

Parliamentary enquiries have looked into Love Island and the media regulator Ofcom warned ITV it could lose its broadcasting licence if the show failed to look after the well-being of future contestants. Quite remarkable for an entertainment programme.

What’s this documentary about?

Anton Danyluk

While its title The Curse of Love Island is a little on the nose, this is what we’re told it’s about:

Through the stories of former contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis, who died by suicide within two years of each other, The Curse of Love Island examines the impact of reality TV fame in the social media age. Featuring contributions from fellow contestants, industry insiders and close friends, the series explores the highs and lows of reality TV, media scrutiny, online abuse, mental health and the pressures of life in the public eye.

Who are the contributors?

Marcel Sommerville

Key to any successful documentary is a list of high-quality contributors, and this certainly has a lot of good names attached. Among them is Orlaith Condon, an Irish pop culture and TV journalist and the podcaster behind the popular Love Island podcast My Pod on Paper. 

Also contributing are:

• Anton Danyluk, a fitness influencer and entrepreneur who was a contestant on the fifth series of Love Island in 2019.
• Luis Morrison, a former professional footballer who participated in series 1 of Love Island and All Stars. He and Cally Jane Beech became the first contestants to have a ‘Love Island baby’. Luis was a childhood friend to Michael Thalassitis.
• Malin Andersson, one of the original cast of Love Island series 2 alongside Sophie Gradon. She is now an author and coach.
• Marcel Somerville, a rapper, DJ and record producer, who was in Love Island series 3 where he became friends with Mike Thalassitis.  
• Dave Read, director of Neon Management and the manager of Michael Thalassitis.
• Paula Akpan, journalist, author, historian and public speaker. 
• Dr Linda Papadopoulos, psychologist and coach.
• Caroline Frost, journalist and commentator.
• Steven Douglass, childhood friend of Sophie Gradon.

After 13 seasons, Love Island remains as popular as ever. But there are certainly downsides to appearing on reality TV, and hopefully this show will shed new light on the pressures – as well as the ways that TV shows can protect the contestants. 

When can we watch it?

The Curse of Love Island is streaming on Prime Video from 26 July.

Images courtesy of Prime Video.

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