Ever since the conception of reality TV (The Osbournes?), us reality telly obsessives have been OBSESSED with just how real reality telly really is. Wow, try saying that sentence ten times fast.
Especially us showbiz journalists. The heatworld team have spent the last 15 (or so) years quizzing our fave reality stars over secret scripted scenes and producer involvement; like reality television is some elusive puzzle we need to solve. The reality is, most reality shows do film and portray reality, but the scenes are somewhat set up and egged on by producers – very rarely are there any scripts with actual dialogue involved. Too much of that and the likes of Love Island would turn into, well, Hollyoaks.
Nevertheless, some fans are still a tad cynical over the authenticity of some reality shows, and Love Island's name gets brought up time and time again. As such, we feel it's our duty to talk to Islanders about it when the conversation hits just right during interviews.
Recently, we sat down with Love Island 2024 stars Hugo Godfroy and queen of queens Jess White, and the pair were more than happy to lift the lid on whether Britain's biggest dating show is scripted in any way.
Hugo began, by flat out saying, "Love Island is definitely not scripted. You're definitely guided to chat to certain people, but what you say is what you say. There are no words put into your mouth; it's definitely not scripted."
Jess continued, "No, it's not. Anyone who's been in the show, or is aware of the TV show will be aware that at the end of the day they are making a TV show, so we have to do things to make it interesting otherwise nobody will watch it. Everything I said, I said, and I stand by what I said, but it's really important to remember it's an edited show and there are things that don't necessarily get shown because it's not classed as exciting or entertainment."
Then Jess summarised the show succinctly by stressing, "You see 45 minutes of a 24-hour day. It's an edited version of reality."
Early last year, inhumanly handsome Love Island 2022 star Jay Younger surprised us uttering a total of seven words in the 2022 villa to spilling EVERY LOVE ISLAND SECRET EVER during several interviews in the months following his villa appearance.
Not that we're complaining; in fact, for heatworld that's totally ideal. We loved Jay as the gorgeous, silent, mysterious type in the villa, and we love him even more as the gorgeous, tea-spilling type outside the villa. Both seriously do it for us, ngl.
Ex-Islanders spend a lot of their free time dodging Love Island production questions while doing interviews and podcasts, but Jay gave fans an insight into just how artificial the show can be at times after guesting on The Big Jim Show podcast, providing top-secret examples – EXAMPLES – of producer involvement.
As well as revealing that THAT argument with queen of queens Ekin-Su was pretty much egged on by producers, Jay also revealed that bombshell opening lines (the cheesy one-liners that bombshells come out with as their presence is dropped on comfortable Islanders) are allegedly given to them by Love Island producers. Sounds like scripted scenes to us...
The now legendary bombshell explained using a hypothetical example, saying, "We’ve been told our lines, so I’m going to say, ‘Sorry I’m late to the party'."
Mind you, he added that producers only actively step in if bombshells say something they don't like, adding, "If you say, ‘I’ve got a massive chopper, here I come', they’re [gonna step in]”.
Jay then summarised by saying, “There are certain things in there that are scripted”.
If that's not enough piping hot tea spilling for you (just think of the state of your floor, though), Jay casually added that the Islanders are then allegedly fed questions to ask the new bombshells upon their arrival (usually during icebreaker dates).
Just when we thought he was all tapped out, Jay then went on to take a few jibes at the producers themselves.
He started by saying, "They get you to do things. They’re very good at emotional manipulation – not saying that in a bad way.” Oh, the good kind of emotional manipulation then?
Jay elaborated explaining how producers were treating him just before he walked through those villa doors and to be honest, we can totally see it. He said, "They’re hyping you up; they are making you feel like you’re God’s gift. They’re making you feel like you can get any girl in there.”
He then added, “When you’re in, it’s a hunting ground for a minute – and then, produced. That’s when it becomes an experiment.”
Jay summarised by saying, “It’s like George Orwell 1984 Big Brother”.
THE TEA, JAY.
The question of scripted scenes often arises after one of the Islanders makes a decision viewers deem to be improbable or informed by public opinion outside the villa - aka made due to the input of one of the show's producers.
An example of this from 2021 was Faye Winter's change of heart following complaints regarding the way she spoke to Teddy Soares.
The producers of the show have adamantly denied that it is scripted, with a representative of the show telling Metro, “As anyone who watches the show regularly would know, Love Island is a combination of reality and produced elements that are reflective of what’s happening in the villa, and is a fair and accurate representation of villa life."
They went on, “It is absolutely untrue to suggest that Love Island is fake, staged or scripted. The opinions they have and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the Islanders themselves.”
While this may be the case, the editing of the show does affect its narrative, as editors and producers have final control over what makes it onto our tellies. In the past Islanders have expressed frustration at the way they were portrayed through editing.
Jonny Mitchell, who appeared on the show in 2017 told Sky News that he was depicted as a “snake” on his season. He said, "The way they edited the show was completely unfair.
“I got portrayed very badly in Love Island.”
Faye even hit back at Islanders who complained about how they were depicted through editing, however, during an interview with Cosmopolitan. She said, “This gets to me because regardless of which scenes were aired, you still did those things… You are still that person and those things still left your mouth.
“Own it and move on. If you've got to apologise, apologise. If you've got to live up to it, live up to it. But don't start blaming unaired scenes for that.”
Some Islanders have gone against what the producers have said, however. Talking to the Daily Star in 2018 Love Island 2017 star Tyla Carr said that producers can, “Suggest it would be a good idea if you brought something up or discussed something.”
She added, “What viewers don’t see is there is always a producer on site. They don’t live in the villa with us but someone generally comes in every hour to have a chat. They would often tannoy an announcement asking for someone to come to the sofa to have a chat with one of the producers. They tell you what they want you to talk about, and who with.”
It seems from this that certain interactions are set up or directed by the producers of the show, who are apparently present during its filming.
'Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do… for the storyline'
Molly Mae Hague made similar comments in an interview with Closer Online. She said, “Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do… for the storyline”.
Technical considerations also prevent the show from being wholly unscripted. Megan Barton Hanson told Grazia that contestants aren’t allowed to flirt in the pool as they couldn't wear their microphones in the water.
This gets rid of some of the authenticity of the encounters. The most cringeworthy example of this was when Olivia Attwood had to dump Sam Gowland twice due to a mic problem (oof).
Not all Islanders are in agreement, however. When asked by a fan on Instagram whether the show is scripted Georgia Townend replied, “No, the show is not scripted.
“We’re not performers or actresses so we wouldn’t be able to deliver lines."
From these conflicting accounts of whether the show is scripted or not it is unclear what the answer to this age old question truly is.
When watching reality TV we have to accept that what we are watching is not 100% real - real life is BORRRING and doesn't really have much of a story to it. It is down to the show's editors and producers to turn real life into something somewhat watchable.