As we all know, we will no longer be seeing a new series of Love Island this year. And when the show does return for its seventh season next year, it may be a very different show indeed. Producers are reportedly considering pre-recording the entire series before broadcast in a bid to better prepare the Islanders for the reactions they’ll receive from the public.
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According to an insider source who spoke to the Sun, the idea has been discussed extensively. The anonymous source revealed:
The welfare of the islanders is the top priority for ITV bosses and there are continual talks about it. Pre-recording the show is one of the ideas to be mooted in planning meetings. It would mean the contestants would be back in the UK when the show aired, meaning they would be more prepared for the overnight fame that comes with being on.
ITV already introduced new measures to improve the aftercare for Love Island contestants last year, including increased psychological assessments prior to entering the villa and therapy and continuing aftercare for all Islanders after the show is over. Whilst 2019 contestant Molly Mae Hague recently praised the ‘incredible’ aftercare she’s received, it seems producers are still keen to do more.
But whilst the source claims the pre-recording idea has ‘proved popular with some of the team’, this would dramatically change the show’s format – since public votes would no longer be able to be used throughout the show. It’s unclear whether the winning couple would still be decided by viewers or not.
Meanwhile, the idea is also likely to be unpopular with viewers who are already impatient for a new series of the show. Whilst this summer’s series has had to be cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, fans surely won’t be happy if the next series is delayed further by being pre-recorded.
