How and why Love Island shows sex on TV
“We don’t do it for any kind of salacious outcome whatsoever,” says the show's producer
Showing intimate scenes on reality TV is always a tricky area, and Love Island has been the subject of criticism in the past (although more people complained to Ofcom about smoking last year than they did about sex).
But according to one of Love Island's producers, the show gets around the issue by focusing on the contestants’ reactions to couples sleeping together – rather than the act itself.
In the 2017 series, viewers saw steamy love scenes between Montana and Alex and also winners Kem and Amber, albeit under the covers.
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But managing director at ITV Studios Entertainment, Angela Jain, has said that – crucially – it’s the reaction to the act which is shown.
“Can I just say for the record, we don’t show sex on television,” she told RadioTimes.com and other press. “What we show is absolutely the reaction to sex happening in the villa and I think that’s really important.
“I think the way that we cut it, the way that we treat it, is that it’s part of a normal relationship. We don’t do it for any kind of salacious outcome whatsoever.
“It is part of what happens, but the way that we treat it is much more like you would cut a sitcom. So we cut it for reactions and we undercut it or overlay it with music.”
And they say romance is dead…
Love Island begins Monday 4th June on ITV2
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