ITV has addressed fix claims against this year’s series of Love Island.
The ITV2 series has been accused of setting up one of the biggest moments of the series so far after the latest recoupling shaked the villa up.
On Sunday (19 June), it was revealed that newcomer Danica Taylor had decided to couple up with Luca Bish, who was already coupled up with Gemma Owen.
Her decision came as a surprise to her fellow contestants considering Jay Younger and Remi Lambert were yet to be attached to anyone.
After the episode aired, MailOnline claimed that ITV bosses had asked Danica to choose Luca in an attempt to heighten tensions in the villa.
The report read: “Producers were keen for her to steal Luca from Gemma during Friday’s recoupling, and she was totally up for it.”
In repsonse, an ITV spokesperson has said: “This is not true. The opinions the islanders have, decisions they make and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the islanders.”
If producers had wanted Luca to have his head turned, their plan backfired: shortly after Danica picked him, he assured her that he wanted to remain with Gemma, who decided to couple up with Davide to prevent him from leaving the villa.
After Remi’s departure, the show’s host Laura Whitmore defended herself from criticism after she was accused of “humiliating” him on discussion show Aftersun.
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2. Find The Independent’s verdict on the latest episode here.