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Richard Cowles

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ITV bosses are about to get some SERIOUS hate mail after the latest comments on body diversity. Brace yourselves for this one, people, it's an absolute corker.

Richard Cowles, creative director of ITV Studios Entertainment, are claiming that the reason Love Island is lacking body diversity is because they want the contestants "to be attracted to one another". 

The reality show has been garnering huge criticism in previous years over failing to cast contestants with a range of body types.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Love Island (@loveisland) on

The 2019 islanders for season five were unveiled last Monday, and fans of the show quickly took to Twitter to vent their frustrations.

The contestants are typically toned, slim and bronzed with gleaming white teeth; zero change from the last four seasons. Former stars of the show also expressed concerns at the lack of physical representation.

Cowles suggested the reason Love Island usually shows only one physique is because other body types might be deemed LESS attractive by other contestants, which is something only a massive d*ckhead would say.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Love Island (@loveisland) on

“I think we try to be as representative and diverse as possible,” Cowles sais​​​​​​d “It has to come back first and foremost- it's an entertainment show and it's about people wanting to watch people we've got on screen and then reacting and falling in love with one another.

“Yes we want to be as representative as possible but we also we want them to be attracted to one another.” *Sharpens knife*

The  Love Island boss continued to dig a bigger hole by saying the show isn’t encouraging people to aspire to a certain body image, it just chooses participants based on who they think the public want to watch for eight weeks.

So basically, only this one narrow body type can appear on television, because the public refuse to watch any other varieties of physiques. Wow. 

“We're saying here's a group of people that we want to watch for eight weeks, and we want to watch them fall in love,” Cowles added. “That's not at the front of our mind, but we do want to be as diverse as possible.”

Former islanders Alexandra Cane and Malin Andersson both spoke out about their disappointment over the 2019 line-up.  

Cane tweeted: “Where the curvy girls at?” while Love Island 2016 star Andersson, wrote: “And I thought they would have some diversity. Meh.”

A spokesperson from ITV2 later said:

“When casting for Love Island, we always strive to reflect the age, experiences and diversity of our audience and this year is no exception with a cross section of different personalities and backgrounds in the villa." Maybe strive a tad harder, eh?

The reality show has also received complaints about the lack of care for the mental health of contestants, following the suicides of Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon.

While the series came under scrutiny for reasons of mental health and compassion on social media, it seems the public are still commenting on the bodies of those involved in the new season 

The show has since introduced aftercare processes in a string of changes.

Some fans are even calling for the show to be removed from the air entirely, especially after The Jeremy Kyle Show drama.

One thing is for sure, they need to do better. Full stop.

blackish do it GIF by ABC Network

Feature image: Instagram/@loveisland

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Love Island bosses have apparently decided to not pay an on-air tribute to reality star Mike Thalassitis at the beginning of season five.

The former contestant, who took part on the 2017 series alongside Chris Hughes, Kem Cetinay and Olivia Attwood, was found dead in the woods near North London in March.

It is believed that the 26-year-old tragically took his own life after his experience with mental health issues. The inquest into his death is scheduled for this month, so more information is incoming.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mike_thalassitis (@mike_thala_r.i.p_f.p) on

The Love Island producers have decided to honour Mike in a tribute on ITV’s on-demand service, which plays the 2017 series and will soon be available as a box-set.

An insider told The Sun: "It felt more appropriate to do it there." It was recently claimed that contestants will have to pass STI tests and mental health screenings to gain acceptance to the new series following Mike's death.

“Bosses want stars to be safe mentally and physically. Their biggest nightmare would be someone contracting an STI, so potential contestants must have several rounds of medical tests," the source continued.

"Advance sessions with counsellors and psychologists have been ramped up to ensure that everyone can handle the fame.They are prepared to cut potentially strong personalities from the line-up if there is any hint of mental instability."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mike Thalassitis (@mike_thala) on

The hugely popular TV dating show returns the first weekend of June with a brand new crop of hopefuls seeking love and fame.

The suicide of 2016 contestant Sophie Gradon last year has led to a major shake-up for the 2019 series, with safeguards to look after contestants being introduced.

Participants will now be given social media training and financial management advice as well.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Sophie Gradon (@sophiegradon) on

The creative director of ITV Studios wrote in a statement on the new initiatives: “When something so awful happens we naturally enter a period of soul searching and ask whether anything could have been done."

“This review has led us to extend our support processes to offer therapy to all Islanders and not only those that reach out to us," he continued. Social media, mental health and reality tv appear to go hand-in-hand.

Richard Cowles insisted Mike's death had nothing to do with the show, but improvements had to be made: "The key focus will be for us to no longer be reliant on the Islanders asking us for support but for us to proactively check in with them on a regular basis.”

Dame Carolyn McCall,  ITV’s chief executive, insisted it would be ‘extremely tenuous’ to link the show to his passing; "I don’t think anybody has made a direct link between what happened to Mike and ‘Love Island’ and that is very important to say."

Instagram/@mike_thala_r.i.p_f.p

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