Numerous Love Island complaints dismissed by Ofcom
The programme was faced with a number of objections from viewers over the past month.
Various complaints about Love Island have been assessed by Ofcom, but none have resulted in investigations, the media regulator has said.
The ITV2 dating series faced a number of complaints from viewers across several episodes in July, with some objecting to the use of bad language while some aired their concern about the emotional welfare of contestants, among other incidents.
Some viewers had opposed footage in which islander Ellie Brown called Georgia Steel an “ugly c***” in a heated argument during one episode, but Ofcom ruled that the word was “properly obscured by bleeping”.
Following the broadcast of another episode, complaints had been made to the media watchdog regarding “bullying” behaviour towards Georgia.
Contestant Laura Anderson’s emotional welfare was also the focus of grievances from viewers, in relation to her relationship with Jack Fowler.
Of the two examples, an Ofcom spokeswoman said: “We carefully assessed complaints about contestants’ behaviour in certain episodes of Love Island.
“However, we believe most viewers would have expected emotionally-charged, confrontational scenes in this programme, where the format is well established.”
In addition, Ofcom said it did not pursue protestations over the use of a lie detector test in one episode, saying that it is an “established feature of the programme, and would have been in line with viewers’ expectations”.
A number of other complaints from viewers were deemed to be an “editorial matter for the broadcaster” by Ofcom.
One was based on objections to scenes involving Samira Mighty being “edited out of the broadcast”.
The regulator said it considered “the extent to which contestants are given airtime”, and that it is “ultimately an editorial matter” for ITV.
The footage of a controversial kiss between Georgia and Jack not being shown to contestants in the villa was also the cause of complaints from viewers.
Ofcom said it is “the programme makers’ decision whether or not clips should be shown to the contestants”.
