Why Love Island 2021 Won’t Be Casting LGBTQ+ Contestants Amid 'Diverse Line-Up'

3 June 2021, 13:30

By Capital FM

@CapitalOfficial

Following months of rumours that Love Island 2021 were looking for gay contestants, bosses have addressed the speculation about this year's line-up.

Love Island 2021 is making its grand return in a matter of weeks and one thing fans were hoping to see was a diverse cast inclusive of contestants from the LGBTQ+ community.

Following months of talk that the dating series was set to enter a more inclusive array of singletons, with the prospect of gay contestants being added to the line-up, it seems it may not happen this year after all.

Love Island 2021 Contestants & Line-Up Rumours So Far

ITV commissioner Amanda Stavri has now set the record straight about the line-up rumours.

Speaking to this publication, she said: “The line-up will be announced within time and it goes without saying that we want to encourage greater inclusivity and diversity.”

Watch The Brand New Love Island Trailer 2021

However, she went on to say that including gay singletons could supposedly present “logistical difficulty”, referring to the requirement that all singletons need to be coupled up with a partner.

She continued: “In terms of gay Islanders, I think the main challenge is regarding the format of Love Island.

“There’s a sort of logistical difficulty, because although Islanders don’t have to be 100 per cent straight, the format must sort of give [the] Islanders an equal choice when coupling up.

“With our dating shows, such as The Cabins, there is much more sexual diversity. The formats don’t have as much restrictions as Love Island."

“So we’re very sort of mindful of that across our programming on ITV and dating series. But that’s the difficulty with Love Island," she added.

Love Island has welcomed LGBTQ+ contestants in the past, with Katie Salmon and Sophie Gradon becoming the first same-sex couple on the show back in 2016.

Meanwhile, Megan Barton Hanson, who appeared on the show in 2018, came out as bisexual after leaving the villa.

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