Fake texts and toothless public votes: ITV warned it could lose public's trust after Love Island 'bible' leaked
Love Island has been the reality TV hit of the summer, but now its broadcaster ITV has been warned that viewers could fall out of love with it, after a leaked "production bible" revealed how producers manipulate the show's votes.
Each week, Love Island viewers are encouraged to vote for which contestants should stay and which should go. However, producers try to ensure these votes make no real difference to the show's main plotline, according to a handbook quoted by the Sun:
"The audience love making show-affecting decisions. But as producers it is important to be aware of not handing over to viewers control of key decisions that would have a significant impact on the narrative."
Producers are encouraged to "narrow the options" available to viewers at home, to prevent them from voting off a "key character".
“If you do a vote-off you need to be fairly confident you won’t be losing a key character, or factor in a safety net," the document reads, according to the tabloid. One such "safety net" is asking contestants to make the final decision after a public vote, creating another opportunity to save a "strong islander".
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"You read these revelations and they raise questions – potentially serious questions — about whether the voting is conducted fairly," warned Trevor Barnes, a TV compliance consultant and former Ofcom executive.
“The other problem is about viewer trust. If you have a vote to get rid of two people and producers decide they want to keep them for the final, you are going to feel pretty uncomfortable.”
Barnes added: "The Ofcom code says you have got to look at the spirit as well as the strict letter of the law." Ofcom will reportedly look into whether the show has misled viewers.
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The document also revealed that the "texts" contestants receive on their mobile phones in each episode do not need to be real text messages. “The Islanders [...] pretend they have got a text and just read the PDF off the phone,” the handbook is quoted as saying.
A spokesman for the show has defended it, asserting that the audience play a crucial role. “The audience ultimately decide the winner of Love Island as the winner is chosen solely by public vote," they said in a statement.
“As anyone who watches the show regularly would know, Love Island has always been a combination of reality and produced elements that are reactive to what’s happening in the villa, and we have always been completely transparent about this and the way the show is produced."
