The contestants heading into the villa for the new series of Love Island have been told to 'pause' their social media accounts before filming starts, to try and combat online bullying that has tarnished the ITV show in the past.
It is customary for Love Island stars to hand over control of their Instagram and Twitter to friends or family when they jet off to do the show, but this has often led to the people left looking after the accounts having to deal with some horrendous messages as viewers give extreme reactions to what they see on screen.
This year, the sister of finalist Luca Bish, revealed that death threats had been sent to his account, while in 2019, the family of eventual winner, Amber Gill, also received some vile messages from viewers, left unimpressed by her actions in the early days of that series. Adam Collard's family also took aim at trolls over comments made about him when he went into the villa for a second time in the summer.
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Each year, ITV bosses issue a duty of care in respect of the Love Island cast and this year's extended measures, published ahead of the new Winter series in South Africa, feature the extended measure of asking participants to pause handles and accounts on their social media platforms for the duration of their time on the show, to protect their friends and family for the 'adverse effects.'
Islanders' accounts will remain dormant while they are in the Villa, so that nothing is published on their behalf, after spats occurred between friends and families of the cast in the summer, while the contestants themselves remained in the villa, completely oblivious to any online rows.
The new series of Love Island will be hosted by Maya Jama, who has appeared in the first two teasers for the show, having replaced former presenter Laura Whitmore, who quit the role shortly after the 2022 final.
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