Other X-rated shows force Love Island to push boundaries - but at what cost?

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Returning to unedited Love Island sex on camera likely to produce more problems for show makers than solutions
Love Island's last throw of the dice will be as sad as it is fascinating to watch.
We We now know that the decision-makers of ITV 's reality show will return to broadcasting scenes of contestants having sex, should they arise.
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X-rated capers were edited out a few years back after the likes of Emma-Jane Woodham, Terry Walsh, Tommy Fury, Molly Mae and many others threw caution and their clothes to the wind.
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Guests to the villa mucked about like rabbits as their continuous on-screen copulation quickly became a feature of the first few series.
But emotional and mental health concerns in the heightened, ruthless era of social media - not to mention issues related to broadcasting sexually risqué material - saw the Love Island guidelines tightened up in 2018.
Less became more as at least something was left to the imagination from that period.
Now we're back. From the noises ahead of its return on Monday night, it would appear sex on camera is being revisited as a solution to the show's plunging ratings.
Especially with mainstream media outlets currently struggling to resist their temptation to try and normalise the likes of adult performer Bonnie Blue.
On current dating shows such as Channel 4 's Naked Attraction, participants already choose partners on the basis of what their private parts look like.
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Forget their charm, charisma or personalities, contestants stand starkers in pods that first show their lower halves - which are examined by the picker and TV viewers - then the top. Imagine going into work the day after being rejected (or even selected!) off that.
On the E4 show, Open House, couples arrive at a luxury retreat to test whether opening up their relationships to have sex with other couples or individuals will strengthen their own.
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And yes, the cameras do switch to infra red when both parties decide they'd like two (or three) to become one.
That's before you get to the streaming shows on Netflix and YouTube not bound by Ofcom guidelines.
Love Island's lack of coitus by comparison has clearly led producers to row back on their performative consideration for contestants' love-term futures.
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Never mind the threat of losing commercial deals as brands steer clear of Islanders swerving out go their lane to engage in conduct incompatible with their values.
Visits to 'the restaurant', 'the nail shop' and the other euphemisms for sex are welcome again. You'd suspect the selection process for this new series will have been conducted with willing participants in mind.
Producers will doubtless be delighted with another Terry and Emma-Jane who, in 2016, had sex on top of the covers in the shared bedroom.
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Or Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies, who had to deny having unprotected sex on the way to winning the 2017 series.
You'd also be forgiven for thinking show bosses would have no compunction about broadcasting just that little bit too much, to escape with a ticking off from toothless Ofcom but grab the headlines and returning viewers that would make it worth it.
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Because like that other fading concept, Big Brother, whose producers kick contestants off the show for doing exactly the kind of thing they throw big money at them for, Love Island chiefs want controversy.
They want notoriety. They want to go viral. They want people to care again.
The clue, though, is in the name. Surely the participants want to find love, not sex.
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Surely they are there to establish emotional connections and foster lasting relationships. Not to be on a televised lads or girls' holiday.
Shows like the Netflix hit Love Is Blind smash it in several countries because they focus on bonding, not boning.
And once the boundaries on Love Island are pushed, what then?
Would every contestant have to be willing to have sex on camera? And what does it say about our society that so many viewers simply shrug their shoulders over it?
Because it might titillate and fascinate once again - but it will throw up more questions than answers.
Ends