Love Island: ITV boss dismisses record complaints
This year's series started in late June and ran for eight weeks
- Published
ITV's programming boss has rejected record complaints about the latest series of Love Island, saying it's "very easy now to complain" and producers usually "get the tone right".
More than 35,500 complaints were made to TV watchdog Ofcom, including 25,000 about a row in one episode.
Kevin Lygo admitted ratings go up when there's conflict, but disagreed that the show was failing in its duty of care.
"The thing about complaints these days is, every week there's a new most complained about show," he told the Edinburgh TV Festival.
"It wasn't so long ago that you had to go down to the post office and get a stamp. Now, you know, the click of a button and you're complaining, so you've got to take things at face value.
"I'm not so worried about how many complainers [there are as] what are they actually complaining about and have they got a point and did we overstep the mark or did we not - whether it's 10 people complaining or 10,000 people complaining.
"With Love Island, it's very easy to take one episode and go, oh, that's too much."
Winners Millie Court and Liam Reardon arrived back in the UK on Wednesday
Producers have to strike a balance between attracting viewers and safeguarding contestants, he said.
"The ratings go up when there's a bit of conflict, and it’s an area where you've got to take an editorial judgement, and the producers have to do it in the minute, of how much of that they show.
"You always have to remember, it's an hour out of a day, so you haven't seen the build-up [and] lots of stuff that goes on around it which might contextualise it more clearly, but I think generally speaking, they get the get the tone right.
"People do shout out at other people, and as long as it's not physically threatening and it's not too inflammatory, it's OK. But to some people it might just step too far."
Ofcom is assessing whether to launch an investigation into the complaints.
Before the latest series, ITV unveiled new contestant welfare measures, which Mr Lygo described as "the gold standard" in the industry.
He said "loads of people don’t make it through" pre-show screening but later "find themselves on other programmes that maybe aren't so rigorous".
Referring to Love Island, he said: "During the recording of the show, there's all sorts of counselling available. There's a lot going on. When they come out, they’re treated very well."
Monday's final was watched by an average live audience of 2.8 million on ITV2 - 22% down on the climax of the last summer series in 2019, but an improvement on the figures for last year's inaugural winter series.
Mr Lygo rejected suggestions that allure of the show was fading - but admitted ITV would need to "spice it up" in the future.
"I don't think it has peaked," he said. "This is a pattern that you see when new programmes come along and they are huge phenomenons."
'Keep it fresh'
He added: "There's many years left in it, and I think the challenge thrown down to the producers... is to make some subtle changes, to spice it up a bit, and to keep it as fresh as you can."
ITV has said another 400,000 people had watched the final on ITV Hub by late Tuesday morning, and Mr Lygo said it was "certainly the best performing series ever" on catch-up.
He also spoke about I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, which will be based in a castle in north Wales for a second year because of the difficulties of filming in its spiritual home in Australia.
"We would like to go back to the jungle," Mr Lygo said. "We will next year if everything allows it."
And he said the channel has not yet decided on a replacement for Piers Morgan to join Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, following Morgan's departure in March.
They were "trying out different people next to her" and "looking to see what the best thing is", Mr Lygo explained.