The drama of this year's Love Island is starting to feel like a distant memory as we continue to see the loved-up couples get on with their new lives outside the famous villa.
But nearly a month on from the grand final, which saw Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti crowned winners, the ITV2 dating show has discovered if it will face any action from Ofcom after it was hit with thousands of complaints during the eight weeks it was on air.
The broadcast watchdog revealed they received 7,482 complaints about the popular programme during its two-month broadcast with complaints related to "alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour" by some of the male contestants. Other complaints made were centred around "alleged misogyny, emotional abuse and coercive control" by the male contestants.
Among the more than 7,000 complaints received, the highest volume was 1,497 for an episode which aired on July 19. During the episode, the islanders took part in a Snog, Marry, Pie challenge where they revealed who they would kiss, marry or hit in the face with a cream pie.
Dancer and model Tasha Ghouri, who finished in third place alongside boyfriend Andrew Le Page after they made it to the final four couples, was left in tears over comments Dami Hope and Luca Bish made during the challenge before delivering a pie to her face.
Ofcom, however, has now said it will not further pursue complaints about the eighth series of Love Island saying “negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light”. An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We carefully assessed complaints about this series on a range of issues including alleged misogynistic and bullying behaviour.
"We recognise that emotionally charged or confrontational scenes can upset some viewers. But, in our view, negative behaviour in the villa was not shown in a positive light. Viewers saw other islanders condemning the behaviour and offering advice and support, as well as scenes where apologies were made.
"We also took into account that the format of this reality show is well established and viewers would expect to see the highs and lows as couples’ relationships are tested."
Last month during a media briefing for ITV’s interim financial results, ITV boss Kevin Lygo said the broadcaster planned to “sit down and review” the popular dating series. Lygo, ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, said: "To get five million people to watch a show every night at 9 o’clock is extraordinary in the modern era, so something is being done right.
"But you are right, we must always look to improve and work on what we have done. But we are very happy with the way it has gone so far."
The ITV2 dating show is set to return in a matter of months after ITV recently announced there will be two series of the show in 2023 – a winter series in South Africa and the summer series as usual in Majorca.
The show’s host Laura Whitmore announced last week that she will not return as host, saying in a post on Instagram that there were “certain elements of the show” she had found difficult "that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects".
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