Eamonn’s heartfelt warning to ITV chiefs
ITV presenter Eamonn Holmes last night said there have to be repercussions for Love Island following the death of the reality show’s former presenter Caroline Flack.
The This Morning star questioned the future of the hit show as ITV was faced with fresh questions over how it protects vulnerable stars and contestants who appear on its programmes.
Writing on Twitter after Ms Flack’s death was announced, Mr Holmes said: ‘Caroline Flack... Dear God. Shocked beyond belief. May she have found peace.
‘Has to be repercussions for Love Island now surely?’
The 60-year-old veteran presenter later questioned whether ‘out of respect’ the show’s sixth series – currently being broadcast from South Africa – can continue.
Ms Flack’s death will also reignite concerns over the support that the broadcaster shows to those suffering mental health problems and its ‘duty of care’ towards its stars.
It comes after a number of former contestants on Love Island have taken their lives. In June 2018, Sophie Gradon hanged herself at her family home in Medburn, Northumberland. An inquest last year heard that the 32-year-old, who appeared on the show in 2016, died after taking cocaine and alcohol.
Last March, Mike Thalassitis, 26, another former contestant, took his own life. The former footballer was found hanged in a park in Enfield, North London. An inquest into his death heard he had cocaine, alcohol, paracetamol and antidepressants in his system. Fellow former contestant Montana Brown said Mr Thalassitis had been in a ‘dark place’ in the months before his death.
Amid growing criticism, ITV released an updated set of ‘duty of care’ guidelines last May ahead of the show’s fifth season. Provisions included a minimum of eight therapy sessions for each Islander on their return home, as well as ‘proactive contact’ from the team for 14 months afterwards. The production team also worked with a former Government Chief Medical Officer in a bid to ‘evolve and enhance’ their care arrangements.
The show’s bosses will now face questions about the support they showed Ms Flack during her own mental health troubles.
They have already faced claims from within the industry that she was cut adrift after she was charged with assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton. Friends of Ms Flack – who had fronted the programme since 2015 – complained the broadcaster had failed to back her in the same way it had Ant McPartlin after his drink-drive conviction.
Criticism has not been confined to Love Island. Last May, ITV axed The Jeremy Kyle Show after a guest died in a suspected suicide. An inquest heard Steve Dymond, 63, feared ‘repercussions’ after failing a lie detector test on the show, which he took to convince his fiancee that he hadn’t been unfaithful.
Has to be repercussions for Love Island surely?