‘Love Island’ host Caroline Flack has defended the ITV2 dating show after two former contestants committed suicide, and she insisted reality TV shouldn’t be a scapegoat for wider problems.
The 39-year-old presenter insisted reality TV shouldn’t be made a scapegoat following the tragic deaths of Mike Thalassitis, 26 and Sophie Gradon, 32, after some viewers called for the programme to be axed.
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She told the Metro newspaper:
“The show is a journey of love and emotions that everyone can relate to and learn from. We are a feel-good show.
“When something becomes popular there seems to be a desire to pull it to pieces and over-analyse it.
“This is about young singletons having fun, getting to know each other, in an amazing villa in the Spanish sun.”
Caroline claimed the team give “first-class care” to stars “before and after” their time on the island, and suggested the issues go much further than the ITV2 dating show.
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She added:
“There is a spotlight on reality TV shows at the moment but sadly this is a global problem we are dealing with; a modern-day life for all that is becoming overwhelming.
“We need to stop blaming speculating without the facts. As a human race we all need to come together, communicate, open up, express ourselves, be kind and be understanding of what all of us are dealing with on a daily basis.”
Her comments come after ITV confirmed it would be making a number of changes to their duty of care processes ahead of the new series.
Although the network dropped ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’ following a participant death last week, the fifth ‘Love Island’ series is to go ahead on June 3rd.
ITV have revealed there will be more detailed conversations with potential Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show, and bespoke training for all Islanders on social media and financial management, which extends support to all Islanders following their participation.
The ‘Love Island’ team have been working with Dr. Paul Litchfield, a physician and a former Chief Medical Officer, for the last eight months to “evolve and enhance” their duty of care processes.
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He said:
“I have reviewed Love Island’s duty of care processes from end to end and they show a degree of diligence that demonstrates the seriousness with which this is taken by the production team.
“The processes and the support offered to Islanders have necessarily evolved as the show has developed and grown in popularity.”