Love Island: 2.8m see Millie and Liam crowned 2021 winners

Millie Court and Liam Reardon

Almost three million people tuned in live to watch Millie Court and Liam Reardon be crowned winners of this year's Love Island on Monday.

The pair beat three other couples to the hit ITV2 show's £50,000 prize.

The dating show's finale attracted an average live audience of 2.8 million.

That's a 22% drop from the 3.6 million who tuned in to the climax of the last summer series in 2019, but an improvement on the figures for last year's inaugural winter series.

This year's series - the first since the programme made its winter debut just before Covid hit in early 2020 - has been broadcast from its Spanish villa for the past eight weeks.

Millie, a fashion buyer's assistant from Essex, had considered splitting from Welsh bricklayer Liam after he was unfaithful during Casa Amor week, but the pair reunited to become exclusive.

Speaking after the show, Millie and Liam thanked fans for their support and described their time on Love Island as the "summer of our lives".

The couple agreed to share the prize money in the finale, which saw ITV2 outperform many of the main terrestrial channels in the 21:00-22:30 BST timeslot, including ITV, BBC Two, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

The broadcaster said a further 400,000 viewers had watched the final episode on the ITV Hub by late morning on Tuesday.

ITV boss Kevin Lygo said: "We're delighted that the final ended on a ratings high, rounding off a series that is on track to be the most popular yet, in terms of viewing on ITV Hub, and averaging over four million per episode across all devices."

The other couples to make it to the final were Chloe Burrows and Toby Aromolaran; Faye Winter and Teddy Soares; and Kaz Kamwi and Tyler Cruickshank.

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They will be offered "comprehensive psychological support" and a "proactive aftercare package" on their return from Majorca as part of ITV's revised duty-of-care protocols.

However, some of Love Island's staple dramatic twists have proved highly controversial this year.

The sight of Faye aggressively confronting Teddy after being shown footage of him from flirting during Casa Amor week prompted record audience complaints to broadcast regulator Ofcom.

That followed thousands of complaints that July's Casa Amor postcard episode was manipulative toward the female islanders.

Changing reality?

TV commentator Scott Bryan said the rise in complaints, while in part down to social media communities knowing "who to complain to", suggested audiences were now expecting kinder reality television.

"It's that balance between having that form of entertainment whilst also trying to cause a bit of controversy and create storylines," he told BBC Radio 5 Live on Tuesday.

Viewers are also beginning to question the authenticity of contestants.

Craig Phillips, winner of the first season of Big Brother in 2000, told 5 Live that the cast went into the villa with "an agenda and commercial direction they want to go in" and that producers had far more input than during his time as a contestant.

The eight finalists before this year's final

Bryan said the cooling of Love Island fever suggested the start of a "downward trend of 'constructed reality', which is what Love Island is".

In her review, The Guardian's Lauren O'Neill said the show was "tired" and this series had "ended with the whimper of predictability in its ears".

Despite that, the show has remained a significant commercial asset for ITV with its predominantly young and female audience particularly valuable to advertisers.

Kevin Lygo said it had been the most popular programme with 16- to 34-year-olds for 44 nights during its latest run.

Five talking points from this year's villa

By Alex Taylor, entertainment reporter

• Faye's outburst - The fallout from the Casa Amor week is always dramatic, but this year proved especially volatile. Faye's aggressive reaction to a clip, shown without full context to imply her partner Teddy had cheated on her, sparked record complaints. Some viewers alleged manipulation from producers, arguing that Faye's self-professed trust issues had been exploited for dramatic effect.

• Hugo's loveless summer - Ahead of the series, PE teacher Hugo prompted debate as Love Island's first physically disabled contestant, but once inside the villa it was his admission that he did not like "fake" women that turned heads. The comments offended a number of islanders, eventually causing Hugo to tearfully apologise. His search for love didn't improve, with social media recoiling in horror when he shouted "job done" seconds after kissing Amy.

• All is forgiven? - All the men except Jake and Teddy cheated on their partners during their week-long stay in the Casa Amor villa. You wouldn't have known it approaching the final, however, as Millie forgave Liam, just as Kaz (eventually) gave Tyler another chance. Who says romance is dead?

• Heartbreak for Jiberty - Jake and Liberty appeared to be one of the season's strongest couples, but their spark eventually fizzled out when Liberty began to get "the ick" and doubt Jake's authenticity towards her. The pair split in dramatic fashion before amicably agreeing to leave the villa together on Friday after their final date - much to the disbelief of their fellow islanders.

• Laura Whitmore's "multitasking" struggle - Love Island's host opened up about the challenge of fronting the show as a new mother in a pandemic. The presenter, who has been criticised by some for her infrequent appearances, opened up to fans on Instagram on Monday. "To get this far hasn't been easy," she wrote. "The last few months have been full on. Getting through fronting the biggest show on the telly means you are faced with daily pressures on and off tv, filming and flying during Covid, media intrusion, being a mother, breastfeeding exclusively, pcr tests, allowing your body to heal, getting that pelvic floor back (she ain't back quite yet!), constant judgement, looking after your mental health… Just surviving each day on a manic schedule is tough."

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