A record-breaking peak of nearly four million people tuned in to the first episode of Love Island.
According to ITV2, 3.7million people tuned in to watch this year’s 12 hopefuls enter the Majorca villa to find love on the show, presented by Caroline Flack.
The Love Island launch last night was the highest rated programme at 9pm across all channels, winning the slot with 3.3million viewers and an 18.5 per cent share. An audience of 488,000 also tuned in to the live stream on ITV Hub.
Among 18-24-year-old viewers, the show reached a staggering 622,000 people with a 59 per cent share. The numbers jumped to 1.6 million viewers with the age bracket 16-32.
Its peak of 3.7 million viewers was up by 10 per cent - or 300,000 viewers - on last year’s launch. Last year’s launch episode on June 4 2018 was record-breaking at the time, with a peak of 3.4 million tuning in.
The Love Island 2018 finale - which was won by Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer - went on to pull in the highest ITV2 viewing figures of all time with 3.6 million viewers.
On Monday night, 10 singletons entered the villa and quickly coupled up - before the arrival of two new boys threatened to get in the way of the blossoming romance less than 24 hours in.
Among this year's contestants are professional dancer Curtis Pritchard, brother of Strictly star AJ, and boxer Tommy Fury, who is Tyson's brother. The line-up has been subject to some controversy, with fans claiming there is a lack of "body diversity" on display, especially among the female line-up, which has since been addressed by bosses.
Hours before the launch, mental health campaigners highlighted the damaging impact reality TV - including Love Island - can have on young viewers.
Out of 4,505 18-24 year olds surveyed by YouGov - on behalf of the Mental Health Foundation - 24 per cent admitted that reality shows made them worry about their body image, while 23 per cent revealed they had had suicidal thoughts in relation to concerns over their body image.
A further 34 per cent said that pictures used for promotional and advertisement purposes made them worry about their own body image.
Love Island continues tonight on ITV2 at 9pm
