There were so many complaints about Love Island contestants lighting up in last year’s series that a ‘smoking ban’ has been introduced.

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Islanders will still be permitted to smoke, but not inside the villa or in the garden, ITV2 bosses have explained.

“More than 50% of complaints about the show were about people smoking,” said head of ITV2 Paul Mortimer, “and because they’re a very sexy cast in a very sexy environment on a sexy channel, it made smoking look glamorous and Ofcom took a view that it was unacceptable…

“This year, we’ve got in place a plan for the smoking area to be outside the villa rather than outside the garden.”

Managing director at ITV Studios Entertainment Angela Jain added: “We are treating it like smoking in a workplace. Everyone’s used to it at home – you can’t smoke in a restaurant, you can’t smoke at home. So we just created a very clear separate area at the front of the villa.

“There will be a camera on it but it won’t be as attractive a place to go into a huddle and have a conversation.”

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Love Island begins on Monday 4th June at 9pm on ITV2

Authors

Ellie HarrisonWriter, RadioTimes.com
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