Expert discusses popularity of ITVs Love Island with the BBC
The phenomenon that is ‘Love Island’ on ITV2 was discussed by an academic from our School of Media, Communication and Sociology today (Wednesday, 12 July) on BBC Radio Leicester.
Tor Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism, and a regular media commentator for the station, was responding to the news that more people had complained to the broadcasting regulator about contestants appearing while smoking, than had protested at the frequent more intimate scenes.
Discussing the show’s popularity with BBC Leicester morning show host Ben Jackson, Tor said that while the show’s content was fairly banal and inconsequential, there was no doubt it brought people together and proved to be enjoyable communal viewing for a large audience, which was rare in an era of catch-up, on-demand and box sets.
Tor said the greater number of complaints about smoking probably reflected the fact the show’s audience expected the more intimate content and was not shocked by it, but the complaints did demonstrate really well how much society’s attitudes to smoking had changed in the short time since the ban on smoking in public was brought in.