Love Island obsessives: take note. We could soon be seeing yet another take on the hit reality TV show – this one focused on single, middle-aged contestants with “normal bodies”.
While the current iteration of the show mostly includes slim, toned men and women in their 20s and early 30s, this new version of Love Island would reportedly look to introduce contestants who are looking for love later in life. And we are totally here for the focus on body diversity.
“Times change and the current generation in their 40s and 50s still care about how they look, are fit and healthy, into fashion and are ready to let their hair down,” a source has told The Sun.
“This show will give those who settled down young a second chance at love while they still feel in their prime.”
The programme’s working title is reportedly going to be Your Mum, My Dad and will hopefully be coming to screens in 2023 after filming starts later this year.
Seeing as Love Island has faced criticism throughout its time on screens for lack of body diversity (amongst other things), this is an exciting development not just for the show, but for those of us who want to see ourselves represented more accurately on screen.
Sharon Gaffka, a former contestant on Love Island, has spoken out recently about her feelings of being “scapegoated” to tick a diversity box, during an interview with The News Desk’s Tom Newton Dunn on TalkTV.
“Diversity comes in lots of different boxes,” she said. “It’s not just ethnicity and while I do think it’s great that you know, close to 50% of the cast will be diverse or from a different background I still think we’re not seeing any Asians in the original line-up.
“There are still midsize and plus-size people out there who are looking for love and would make great contestants on the show so I feel like they’re still being overlooked, in the original line-up, we are yet to see the rest of the cast.”
We are all about better body and racial diversity on Love Island, and can’t wait to hear more about this development.
GLAMOUR has reached out to ITV for comment.
