Love Island will return to screens this summer, nearly 18 months since it was last on air, ITV has confirmed.
However, the broadcaster has not announced any further details, such as the location of the villa.
Previous summer series have taken place in Mallorca, but reports this week suggested ITV had identified the island of Jersey as a possible back-up.
The channel has also announced a slate of new dramas and entertainment shows which will air in the coming months.
Earlier this year, ITV’s CEO Dame Carolyn McCall said they were “looking at all options” to bring Love Island back.
She told the BBC’s Amol Rajan: “We will want to put Love Island on air because it’s been off air for a little while, we didn’t do it last summer. We’re looking at all our options at the moment because the pandemic makes that hard.”
The most recent series of Love Island took place in the winter, concluding in February 2020, when Paige Turley and Finley Tapp were crowned the winners. (They’re still together, a year later.)
That series took place just before the coronavirus pandemic, and marked the first winter run for a show which had previously only aired during summer months.
Since the series has been off air, ITV2 has been broadcasting international editions of the series in its place to fill the air time, such as Love Island Australia.
Laura Whitmore will likely return to hosting duties, after she previously stood in for former presenter Caroline Flack, who died last February.
(IMAGE: hellomagazine)
It’s unclear how the show would operate if social distancing measures remain in place by this summer.
However, it’s likely that Covid-19 restrictions will be significantly reduced by then, in light of the government’s four-step plan to ease most lockdown rules by June, and the continued success of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
Even if some measures are still in place, other series like Strictly have used daily testing and contestant bubbles as a way to stay on air.
But the pandemic has caused significant disruption to TV productions. Both Strictly and Dancing On Ice saw contestants leave after testing positive for Covid-19, while I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here relocated from Australia to Wales.
Love Island was one of several commissions ITV confirmed on Thursday, as it announced details of its summer programming.
Sources: BBC
