Liam Llewellyn has revealed the real reason he left the Love Island villa after just six days - as he defended fishmonger Luca Bish in a strong-worded interview.
The student quit the show just days into the villa after admitting he was struggling to be himself on the show, and in his first interview since leaving the villa, Liam hit out at producers for viewers seeing Luca in a different light.
He also revealed that the show wasn't "natural" at all.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail, Liam said: “I was expected to do things for a TV show and I couldn’t be myself. I didn’t want to do it. It is a TV show and it is produced. It’s not all natural.
"In my head I was not in the right position to take part in a TV show because that’s what you’re doing. You have to go on dates, do challenges, and you’re not in control of any of it.
"It was a big decision to make, and you don’t make those kinds of decisions without having that mental battle with yourself.
"I was confused and gutted about the way I was feeling. My body was there but my head was miles away. I couldn’t narrow it down to one word, but I was so overwhelmed.”
Luca has been slammed by viewers in recent weeks for alleged bullying of Tasha Ghouri and general comments made on the hit dating show.
But Liam has leaped to his defence, saying: "I know Luca and what he's really like and it's nothing like as he's coming across.
"All of a sudden, the edit he's getting isn't quite justified. It is hard for me to sit here and watch that while the viewers are forming opinions whereas if you spent 10 minutes with him that would change."
He added: "Any opinion people have about the show I'm thinking you have no idea, I think if only you knew.
"You're seeing such a small segment they really don't know what's going on. It's a TV show, they have to make drama and turn something that's small into something big and the viewers get lost in all of that."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the show said: "As anyone who watches the show regularly would know, Love Island is a combination of reality and produced elements that are reflective of what's happening in the villa, and is a fair and accurate representation of villa life. We have always been completely transparent about this and the way the show is made.
"This is often acknowledged in the voice over by Iain Stirling. The opinions they have and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the Islanders themselves. As we have said since series one, Love Island is a combination of reality and produced elements."
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