Love Island Contestants Will Receive Inclusion Training As Part Of New Duty Of Care

31 May 2022, 14:54

Love Island 2022 contestants will have training and guidance on inclusion from disability and sexuality to race and ethnicity.

Love Island’s 2022 series is just days away from launching, where we will see singletons including Gemma Owen, Natasha Ghouri, Liam Llewellyn and Ikenna Ekwonna heading into the villa for a summer of love.

As we approach series 8, the show’s duty of care has been boosted and ITV has published details of their ‘extended duty of care protocols’.

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Before the Islanders head into the villa, they will receive training and guidance on ‘inclusive language around disability, sexuality, race and ethnicity, behaviours and microaggressions’.

The inclusion training will be provided by BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport) founder Leon Mann MBE and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) consultant Hayley Bennett, disability specialist Shani Dhanda and broadcaster Sean Fletcher.

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Ade Rawcliffe, the Group Director of Diversity and Inclusion at ITV, said: “The world we live in is changing every day, and we want all of our islanders to feel they are part of an inclusive environment in the villa.

“As part of our duty of care process, it is also important we play our part in educating our participants to understand and empathise with different perspectives and lived experiences.”

Ahead of entering the villa, contestants will also watch a video fronted by the show’s executive producer and head of welfare, which will see former Islanders being interviewed about their experiences on the show.

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This will include details on the two week period before they enter the villa, how to cope with being filmed 24/7, the interaction they will have with producers during their time in the villa and how to deal with social media trolling and life away from the show.

Pre-filming stipulations include contestants having to disclose ‘any medical history’ that would be relevant to their time in the villa.

Meanwhile, aftercare procedures include ‘proactive contact with Islanders for a period of 14 months after the series in which they have appeared has ended, with additional help provided where applicable’.

Love Island returns to ITV2 on June 6 at 9pm.

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