The Love Trap: is the age of the TV dating show finally over?

Can we stop with the ridiculous formats?

The Love Trap

by Marianna Manson |
Updated on

Did you tune into Channel 4’s newest dating show, The Love Trap last night?

The concept – where a single man dates 12 women and ‘dumps’ (literally, through a trap door) the ones he suspects of only being in it for the cash prize – might be novel, but the formula has been done to death.

In a hideously oversaturated market, The Love Trap is particularly ridiculous because it suggests that half of the women taking part aren’t in it purely for the Instagram followers and brand deals. While we’ve always known that the majority of Love Islanders are scouted by producers, the most recent series of Married at First Sight proved that the practise has bled into other dating shows. Nobody – I repeat, NOBODY – is applying to ‘find love’; they’re being cherry picked for their potential to make good TV, and it shows (case in point - the eligible bachelor on The Love Trap has already appeared on Netflix's Too Hot To Handle).

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In a week where the first couple to marry after meeting on iconic 80s dating show Blind Date celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, the sheer volume of TV dating shows is utterly depressing. In the last few years we’ve had more absurd formats shoved down our throats than we've had hot dinners. ITV2’s Ready to Mingle had barely any viewers; The Cabins, the same channel’s attempt at an antidote to a Love Island-less winter, far from made an impact; Dinner Date has inexplicably been running for several seasons despite the fact no one ever watches it unless they’re waiting for something else to come on on the same channel. Sexy Beasts, Naked Attraction, Dress to Impress – surely the barrel has been scraped so hard it’s eroded right through at this point?

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Love Island's richest stars SLIDER

Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen 20161 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen 2016

Olivia Buckland was a member of the 2016 Love Island cast from day one. She coupled up with Daniel Lukakis, Rykard Jenkins and Adam Maxted before Alex Bowen entered.From day 20 onwards, Olivia stayed coupled up with Alex Bowen. The couple ended as runners up.Before entering the villa, Olivia worked as a sales executive and Alex was a scaffolder and fitness model.Before her rise to fame, Olivia admitted she was so debt-ridden she had to sell her own sofa.

Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen 20162 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen 2016

Since leaving the villa, Alex and Olivia moved in together and they are the proud owners of two French bulldogs. In 2017, the couple got engaged and Olivia featured in an episode of Say Yes To The Dress. In 2018, Alex and Olivia became the first Love Island couple to tie the knot. They made an exclusive deal with OK! magazine and the pair married at Gosfield Hall in a lavish ceremony with hundreds of guests.According to Fabulous magazine the season two couple have made the most money from the show, with their wedding last year landing a £25,000 magazine deal.Olivia has had several fashion deals including her own range of clothing with MissPap, has walked the catwalk during London Fashion Week as well as presented on This Morning.Alex and Olivia have recently launched a clothing brand together called Exempt society. The couple are thought to be worth £4.4 million.

Dani Dyer 20183 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Dani Dyer 2018

Dani Dyer captured the nation's heart on Love Island season four last year and went on to win the series with boyfriend, Jack Fincham.The pair coupled up very early on and (mostly) stayed strong throughout the run. At the end of the 2018 series, the couple were crowned winners and split the £50,000 prize.Before entering the villa, Dani was a barmaid and an aspiring actress. She's appeared in eight films including Age Of Kill and Heckle.Dani is also the daughter of EastEnders legend Danny Dyer.

Dani Dyer 20184 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Dani Dyer 2018

After leaving the show a happy couple, Dani and Jack landed a spin-off series on ITVBe, Life After Love Island. They also went on to collaborate with Cadbury and Lucozade. According to The Sun, the couple were thought to have made at least £150,000 in advertising deals before their split earlier this year.Since splitting, Dani has continued to make money on her own and has launched her own clothing range with In the Style, reportedly worth £750,000.

Jack Fincham 20185 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Jack Fincham 2018

Before his rise to fame after entering the villa, Jack Fincham was a pen salesman from Essex.Jack won the 2018 series alongside girlfriend Dani Dyer and they stayed coupled up with for the entire time run of the show. The couple even remained strong when Jack's ex-girlfriend Ellie Jones entered the Casa Amor villa.

Jack Fincham 20186 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Jack Fincham 2018

Jack and Dani won the show and shared the £50,000 prize, but they split not long after they starred in their spin off series on ITVBe, Life After Love Island. Since then, Jack has collaborated with McDonald's and Protein World and has launched his own line of stationary, Fincham London.As well as numerous TV appearances, Jack is set to boost his profile even further as it has just been announced he will star in the cast of the next series of Celebs Go Dating.

Kem Cetinay 20177 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Kem Cetinay 2017

Kem won the 2017 series alongside Amber Davies and has been a pretty regular face on TV since then. Before entering the villa in 2017, Kem worked as a hairdresser in his home county Essex and shared his life (and his tanned six pack) with his growing Instagram followers. Kem and Amber Davies's relationship on the show was enjoyable to watch and romantic, with the couple going through some ups and downs on TV (including Kem's romantic girlfriend proposal and their Casa Amor dramas). The pair went on to win the series and share the £50,000 prize.

Kem Cetinay 20178 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Kem Cetinay 2017

According to reports, Kem has earned £1.5 million since leaving the show. Kem has presented on Good Morning Britain and This Morning and even appeared as a contestant on 2018's series of Dancing on Ice. He later returned to the ITV competition in 2019 as a backstage presenter. Kem also appears to have continued to rake it in via Instagram posts and deals with Sainsbury's and BoohooMAN. Not forgetting the ITV2 spin-off series Kem starred in with his fellow Love Islander Chris Hughes - You vs Chris & Kem and Straight Outta Love Island.The Love Island 'bro-mance' even went on to top the charts with their single, Little Bit Leave It.

Amber Davies 20179 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Amber Davies 2017

Amber is from North Wales and was an aspiring actress and dancer before her rise to fame on the show. She had also worked as an entertainer at London's circus themed club night Cirque Le Soir .

Amber Davies 201710 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Amber Davies 2017

After winning the show and gaining her share of the £50,000 prize, Amber continued to raise her bank balance by reportedly charging £5,000 an hour for personal appearances.The former Islander then went on to collaborate with the clothing brand, MotelRocks, and signed a deal thought to be worth £500k.Amber now stars in the West End production of 9 to 5: The Musical; fans were able to follow her journey to the stage in a reality show on ITVBe - Amber & Dolly: 9 to 5.

Chris Hughes 201711 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Chris Hughes 2017

Chris worked on his family farm before entering the Love Island villa in 2017. Chris fell in love with Olivia Attwood and the couple finished as runners up to Amber and Kem.

Chris Hughes 201712 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Chris Hughes 2017

Chris is thought to have banked £1.4 million since Love Island.Before their dramatic split, Chris and Olivia starred in their own spin-off show, Chris & Olivia: Crackin' On. The 26 year old had a hit single with best friend Kem, and has had numerous personal and TV appearances. Not forgetting, Chris and Kem's popular TV shows - You vs Chris & Kem and Straight Outta Love Island.More recently, Chris has started dating Little Mix star Jesy Nelson and has been earning money presenting horse-racing coverage on ITV.

Olivia Attwood 201713 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Olivia Attwood 2017

Before fame, Olivia lived in Surrey and worked as a motorsport grid girl and model. Olivia was initially paired with Marcel Somerville but she ended up coupled with Chris HughesAfter their somewhat turbulent relationship in series three, Olivia and Chris broke up after leaving as runners up and attempting their relationship in the 'real world'.

Olivia Attwood 201714 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Olivia Attwood 2017

Olivia is thought to have raked in £1.2 million since her time in the 2017 villa.It has been reported that Olivia charges £10,000 per public appearance and can be paid £2,000 for a sponsored Instagram post.The former grid-girl has also appeared on E4's Celebs Go Dating and landed a magazine column with New!Liv recently got back together with ex-boyfriend and footballer, Bradley Dack.

Kady McDermott 201615 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Kady McDermott 2016

Kady was the brunette bombshell from Stevenage who strutted into the Love Island villa in series two. The former make-up artist found love on the show with Scott Thomas and the couple finished in third place. However, the turbulent nature of their relationship continued outside of the villa with the couple breaking up and getting back together on more than one occasion.

Kady McDermott 201616 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Kady McDermott 2016

Pocket rocket Kady has reportedly made £1.2 million since her time in the villa in 2016.When they first left the villa, the on/off couple made money by reportedly charging up to £10,000 for personal and night club appearances.After breaking up for good in 2017, Kady has now moved on and earns a living from her make-up range By Kady, which she launched in 2017 and her fitness guide. She is now dating TOWIE star Myles Barnett and the pair featured on the reality show together. Kady, 23, regularly shares sponsored posts on Instagram and has teamed up with Boohoo and I Saw It First. Recently, Kady and Myles purchased a Hertfordshire bungalow and have huge renovation plans.

Jess Shears and Dom Lever 201717 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Jess Shears and Dom Lever 2017

Jessica Shears and Dom Lever met in the 2017 Love Island villa and the duo have gone on to become man and wife.Before the show, Jess was a glamour model and Dom worked as a careers adviser in Manchester.The couple got together on the first day of Love Island series three and stayed together until Jess got dumped by the boys. Lovesick Dom was dumped from Casa Amor just weeks later and the couple reunited.

Jess Shears and Dom Lever 201718 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Jess Shears and Dom Lever 2017

After they returned to England, Dom and Jess's relationship continued to grow and the couple got engaged in September 2017. Since leaving the villa, both Jess and Dom have boosted their bank balances with lots of sponsored posts on Instagram. The couple's first wedding came on Good Morning Britain in a bizarre ceremony on Valentin'e Day 2018 when they were 'married' by Richard Arnold.However, the reality stars had a real wedding in October on the Greek Island of Mykonos and signed an exclusive deal with OK! magazine.In May 2019, the couple announced they are expecting their first child together.

Gabby Allen 201819 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Gabby Allen 2018

Gabby rose to fame in the 2017 series of Love Island and became known for her love story with Blazin Squad's Marcel Somerville. Before entering the villa, Gabby worked as a fitness Instructor. The couple became inseparable and it seemed that their relationship would be one of the longest standing. However, months after leaving the villa, Marcel cheated on Gabby while the couple were holidaying in Mexico and they split.

Gabby Allen 201820 of 22

Gabby Allen 2018

The fitness pro has made a lot of money since leaving the villa and has even launched her own fitness app, which became no.1 in the Apple Store. It has been reported that Gabby also signed a £100k-a-year contract with another fitness app and she recently brought out a book, full of tips on how to achieve a banging bod like hers.Gabby has now found love again and is in a relationship with Rak-su singer, Myles Stephenson.

Megan Barton Hanson 2O1821 of 22
CREDIT: ITV

Megan Barton Hanson 2O18

Entering the 2018 villa midway through series four, Megan instantly stirred things up.On the show, Megan found love with Wes Nelson and the couple stayed together for five months, splitting at the end of January 2019.Since leaving the show, the former glamour model from Essex has opened up about getting £25k worth of cosmetic surgery when she was 19.

Megan Barton Hanson 2O1822 of 22
CREDIT: Getty

Megan Barton Hanson 2O18

Megs has reportedly made £1.1 million since leaving the villa and signed deals with Pretty Little Thing and Avon.Megan is set to appear on the upcoming series of Celebs Go Dating and has admitted to being open to finding love with both men and women.

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Obscure dating formats are nothing new, with the early noughties particularly prolific in spawning problematic short-lived series. Playing it Straight saw one hapless woman date a number of guys but – OMG – some of them were gay, while There’s Something About Miriam sent a load of ‘lads lads lads’ on a holiday to Mexico with a hot woman who turned out to be transgender. The resulting lawsuit – because, of course, there was a lawsuit – settled at half a million pounds after contestants accused the show’s creators of “inflicting psychological and emotional damage, and conspiracy to commit a sexual assault”. No wonder it wasn’t renewed for a second series.

The Love Trap
©Channel 4

There are some formats that stick, but who can say what makes a successful dating show? First Dates – a simple format facilitated by skilled matchmakers generating genuine connections – will continue to capture the nations’ hearts when it airs twice yearly, as sure as anything. Love Island is inarguably the biggest show on TV and Married At First Sight has made its way all over the world. Even Take Me Out – the sadly now defunct show that seemingly randomly matched couples based on who was wearing the shortest dress and how many filthy habits a woman was prepared to tolerate after a less than flattering video – had a disproportionately high success rate. With some of the most consistent viewing figures across the whole TV spectrum, it’s obvious why producers are so eager to recreate the magic in new and exciting formats, but the desperation is off putting.

And yet, chances are I’ll tune in at least once. While the premises of these shows are increasingly eye-roll, you only have to look at the enraptured audience on Gogglebox to know there’s still a hearty appetite for TV dating shows. While no one is under any illusions that finding love is the aim of the game, it’s the scandal, the heartbreak and the hot sex that continue to draw audiences, despite the fact the Ofcom complaints over the treatment of contestants becoming more and more common. Our favourites finding lasting love – a lá Alex and Olivia Bowen, or MAFS faves Tayah and Adam (hereby known as Tadam) – is a nice touch, but we’re only really here for the #drama.

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