The UK's biggest reality TV dating show Love Island has been voted as the country's most 'hate watched' show, according to a recent study. Research by Wagering Advisors has found that almost one in three viewers (31 per cent) watch the reality show, despite holding mixed feelings about their viewing habits.
The hit ITV series sees groups of single men and women enter a exotic villa abroad in the hopes of finding love and coming home with a cash prize. The show is currently in its tenth series, with millions of fans tuning in regularly to watch as the contestants build connections with each other.
More than 1,000 participants took part in the survey, with close to a quarter (23 per cent) regularly viewing the ITV2 dating show. Almost one in five women (17 per cent) said they are more uncomfortable with enjoying Love Island, compared to just 14 per cent of men.
Naked Attraction was ranked second in the study, with 17 per cent of viewers embarrassed by watching members of the public take their kit off. London had the most viewers of the Channel 4 show, with 1 in 20 residents (five per cent) admitting to a secret fondness of the controversial dating programme.
Top five shows that the UK hates to love:
Married at First Sight (16 per cent), Keeping Up With the Kardashians (10 per cent), The Only Way Is Essex and Friends (nine per cent) made up the top five of shameful TV viewing. Participants within the survey were also given a series of statements to answer and asked whether they agreed with certain scenarios.
When analysing male and female comparisons in greater depth, the data shows that women are more likely to continue watching shows that they may find uncomfortable to view. Based on the responses, 369 women (71 per cent) admitted that they would carry on watching shows they may enjoy but still feel embarrassed by, which is 15 per cent higher than their male counterparts' thoughts.
Over half of respondents said they would continue to watch a programme despite disliking all of the characters or contestants in the respective show (53 per cent). Men are also more likely to grow to love certain programmes when being forced to watch something by their partner.
Three in five (59 per cent) men confessed to secretly enjoying watching shows if their partner had control of the remote tha they usually wouldn’t entertain otherwise. When it comes to sharing your TV streaming history, one in five men admitted they would be embarrassed to share that information with their friends, families or partners.
