14-05-2025
Virgin Island takes 'disastrous' turn as couple's massage derailed by cruel swipes about 'horrible stretch marks' - and is called to an abrupt halt
Virgin Island took a 'disastrous' turn as a couple's massage descended into swipes about 'horrible stretch marks' before being called to an abrupt halt.
Channel 4's new six-part series sees sexologists Dr Danielle Harel and Celeste Hirschman and their team, guide the 12 virgins on a unique course.
The second instalment, which aired on Tuesday evening, saw the group begin to explore intimacy more through touch.
Split into pairs, the virgins went about giving one another massages but Jason and Charlotte seemed to find the task difficult.
To begin with, Charlotte rubbed massage oil into Jason's back but exclaimed: 'Why do you have these horrible stretch marks?'
Jason replied: 'I don't know. You didn't say horrible did you?'
'It looks painful. It looks like you got scratched,' Charlotte continued before saying, 'I'm bored now,' and switching places.
Jason then set about massaging Charlotte and as he began to rub her arm, she asked, 'Why are you focused on one area?'
She then started encouraging him to use 'more thumb' and 'more movement'.
Jason then turned to inappropriate humour to ease the tension and commented: 'It's like w****** off your arm.'
Charlotte didn't appear impressed and brought the session to an end saying, 'Now I definitely want you to stop'.
Afterwards, the pair discussed the experience with their fellow virgins.
While Charlotte dismissed it as 'Meh,' Jason told Louise, 'That was a disaster'.
He added: 'I whipped off my shirt and everything. Maybe not being berated a lot would have felt nice.'
The show has caused outrage amongst viewers who have blasted it as 'absolutely excruciating'.
While the Virgin Island uses a range of methods, as well as guidance from sexologists and surrogate partner therapy, viewers were quick to share their appall at the show.
The opener introduced a range of virgins who have their various fears around intimacy, including bisexual receptionist Taylor, 29, who burst into tears while maintaining eye contact with another contestant, and Zac, 28, who is keen to have sex with his assigned surrogate partner in the first session.
Fans were quick to share their disgust for the show, with one even branding it a 'new low' for television.
Posts on X included: 'In my opinion, this is a bit twisted, they need to work on themselves first, being a virgin is nothing to be embarrassed about #virginisland I think is bizarre. FFS get ready for my rants;
'This is so exploitative. I'm panicking myself and now I'm watching it at home!! I can't even imagine being one of them right now. This is awful;
'I'm finding this very creepy, I wouldn't like that and I'm not a virgin, the therapists are strange this is not right;
'Anyone else a bit creeped out by this show?;
While the Virgin Island uses a range of methods, as well as guidance from sexologists and surrogate partner therapy, viewers were quick to share their appal at the show
'Didn't think TV would get any lower, then pops along #virginisland.';
'It feels wrong to be watching this;
'That was an absolutely excruciating watch - see you all tomorrow.'
Virgin Island airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4.
NAME: EMMA
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: FOOD WORKER
Emma said: 'I was the only virgin amongst my friendship group, I felt outnumbered.
'I believed I was the only human experiencing adult life without intimacy but I couldn't relax when there is the possibility of intimacy and I had to battle previous traumas.
'The fact that this concept was being brought to TV made me realise being over 21 and never having sex was not as rare as I thought it was.'
NAME: BEN
AGED: 30
Ben said: 'A friend sent me the casting call for Virgin Island on social media. I'm not sure if he knew I was a virgin, but he knew I'd struggled in this area.
'Funnily enough, my immediate response to his message was 'not a chance'.'
NAME: DAVE
AGE: 24
Dave said: 'An initial joke by some friends for some cheap laughs slowly became the opportunity of a lifetime.
'I have always struggled to open up to people but this led me to feel invisible - a feeling I couldn't take anymore.
'I felt like it couldn't continue and I wanted to do something drastic to get my life back on track.
NAME: JASON
AGE: 25
OCCUPATION: ADMIN WORKER
Jason said: 'I always felt like a failure in terms of intimacy and socialness.
'I know the island was primarily for intimacy, but it had
the amazing bonus of helping me improve my social skills – and for that, I will be forever grateful.'
NAME: LOUISE
AGE: 22
Louise said: 'I never really imagined applying for a show like Virgin Island but my friend sent me the application as a joke, and I thought, 'Why not?'
'I was at the point where I was willing to try anything.
'I had just accepted that there must've just been something wrong with me - I think the fact that my friends would see the word 'virgin' and think of me says enough to be honest.'
NAME: CHARLOTTE
AGE: 29
Charlotte said: 'Because I wanted to rid myself of my shame that I had surrounding my body, and my desire, and my ability to give myself pleasure.
'I wanted to be honest with myself so that I would not be hindered when having relationships in the future.'
NAME: HOLLY
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: DOG GROOMER
She said: 'I felt like I was at a point in my life where I was ready to experience being with someone, but I had a lot of anxiety and questions about myself that I felt I had to work through before taking that step.
'I was definitely nervous, not knowing what to expect, what the others were going to be like, whether I was actually going to get anything out of it.'
NAME: PIA
AGE: 23
Pia said: 'I applied for Virgin Island because of my struggles with vaginismus.
'I wanted to overcome the pain and anxiety I felt when exploring penetrative sex.
'Plus, I found intimacy incredibly overwhelming.'
NAME: TAYLOR
AGE: 29
Taylor said: 'I spent my whole adult life wondering why I found sexual things so difficult when others didn't.
'When I was a teenager, the risks of sex seemed to far outweigh the benefits, the only benefit anyone spoke of was babies, and I certainly wasn't ready for one of those.
NAME: TOM
AGE: 23
Tom said: 'I always found myself to be a freak because I struggled to lose my virginity whilst others around me continued to pop their cherries.
'It severely affected my mental health, filling me with self-loathing which in turn made me a worse person.'
NAME: VIRAJ
AGE: 25
Viraj said: 'I had a massive struggle to express myself in front of women.
'For me it wasn't about the intimacy stage but more with the confidence side of talking to women and making small talk.
'This whole idea was encouraged by my friends for me to get out of my comfort zone and go through with this.'
NAME: Zac
AGE: 23
Zac said: 'There was a man reporting that Channel 4 was looking for adult virgins to take part in an experimental TV show. This was of course describing me.
'At first I was like - no way, I'm not gonna do that, but I started to think about it more and more, and I realised that I wasn't really getting anywhere by myself, time was just passing me by with no real positive change.'
