Love Island fans will have to wait until Sunday for the next episode of drama. Instead, on Saturday, January 18, they’ll get Love Island All Stars: Unseen Bits, featuring highlights and juicy moments not shown in the regular episodes.
Unseen Bits is not a new format, as the show has been airing these compilations since the earlier seasons. Kem Cetinay, the 2017 winner, revealed on This Morning why Saturdays don’t feature new content.
He explained that the Islanders get a day off, which also serves as the villa’s cleaning day, as he revealed: “They give you one day off. You get one day off per week. What happens is, it gives them a day to clean the villa, and you take your mics off, and normally we go to the beach.”
He shared that during this time, Islanders are not allowed to discuss anything related to the show and instead focus on personal life stories, reports OK!.
Kem added that producers closely monitor everything to maintain the integrity of the show’s narrative, stating: “You are being watched by the producers, because they don’t want you to talk about what is going on. They are quite careful about what you talk about, because they want to keep it so everyone at home can see it.”
Georgia Steel, a previous Islander, opened up about villa life in an interview with Closer magazine. She explained: “We don’t go out of the villa. More or less the boys and the girls are split up and I totally understand that from a production point of view,” shedding light on the producers’ efforts to control relationship developments.
She further revealed: “They don’t want relationships to maybe grow or for them to have conversations that they believe would be a huge benefit for the public to see, so they want to split you up.”
Strict rules at the villa include a ban on smoking since 2018, limits on alcohol consumption and nudity, alongside a strong zero tolerance policy against offensive language.
Contestants must be mic’d up at all times with rare exceptions, Amy Hart, who was on the show in 2019, explained during a Q&A with fans: “They have someone watching and when you go into the toilet you can turn your mic off,” disclosing that even bathroom access is under tight surveillance, largely for safety reasons.
Islanders are even forbidden from bringing books or magazines into the villa – presumably to keep the show more engaging than it would be with contestants engrossed in books.
All islanders have to stick to specific times for meals, although they can prepare their own breakfast, but lunch and dinner is provided from the producers.
Montana Brown, who was on series 3 of the show, shared some secrets: “In the larder there’s another door that goes out the back that they lock. That’s how they deliver food.”
As well as mentioning that their mics are put on charge during meal times.
The contestants hand in their own phones when they are being put in holding before the show starts, and are given ones that only receive texts from producers whilst in the show.
Additionally, in January 2023 ITV declared that contestants must keep their social media accounts inactive while on the show
In a significant move, ITV declared in January 2023 that contestants must keep their social media accounts dormant while on the show “to protect both the Islanders and their families from the adverse effects of social media,” as previously friends and family members have controlled contestants accounts while they were in the villa.
There’s also a rule book handed out to all the Islanders offering guidance on consent, safe sex and appropriate behaviour. Yet, rules have slipped in the past. Sherif Lanre’s accidental kick to Molly-Mae Hague’s groin coupled with unsuitable remarks led to his early exit in 2019.
While Malia Arkian during the 2016 series was removed just a few hours after her arrival for physically lashing out at Kady McDermott due to a spilled wine incident.
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Explaining the incident to Closer, Malia stated: “Security removed me after an altercation with Kady. I met with the producers, where we watched the footage back and there was a report conducted. I then went to a hotel with my chaperone, where I stayed for 24 hours, with no contact with anyone.”
She added: “I was distraught and devastated. I was terrified about what people would be thinking. ITV have the final say on whether you leave, and they decided that I wouldn’t be let back.”
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