In the trailer for the latest season of Love Island, presenter Maya Jama swivels around on a pink office chair to confront a boardroom of faux-executives, whose outfits are an unholy collision of swimwear and business casual. “I want more drama, more bombshells, more break-ups, more make-ups,” Jama demands. The working set-up – which involves a table decked out like a swimming pool, complete with tiny flamingo inflatables – may be knowingly cartoonish, but the whole thing feels a bit on the nose.
It’s not hard to imagine that, in recent months, similar conversations have been playing out in actual ITV boardrooms, albeit with a slightly more panicked tone and far fewer decorative pineapples. That’s because in recent years, Love Island has started to feel like a reality franchise on the wane.
