Former Love Island star Joel Kirby has revealed the truth behind 'scripted' scenes on the ITV dating show. Joel, who entered Casa Amor on Day 28 of Series 11, was sent packing just three days later. He says that while events on the show are led by emotions, producers have a lot of sway.
Filming schedule and rules
Joel explained that contestants film for about five hours a day: an hour and a half in the morning, an hour and a half after lunch, and about two hours after dinner. The rest of the time, they must follow strict instructions, including not talking to the opposite gender when cameras aren't rolling. He said: "The rest of the time, you're just chilling with the boys, not allowed to talk to the girls, not allowed to talk about the show at all. Literally just vibing, which is genuinely weird because you've obviously gone on a show to meet someone and you're spending most of the day playing cards with a bunch of lads."
Boredom and backflips
Life in the villa can be boring, with no clocks or entertainment. Joel said: "You kind of get so bored in the downtime. I tried backflipping into the pool and got shouted at." However, he insisted that conversations are real: "The chats are real, the conversations are real. You choose who you want to spend the time with."
Producer involvement
Joel noted that the only staged element is when filming starts, producers ask contestants to spread around the villa, something they would do anyway. He added: "The producers do pull you into the Beach Hut to check you're alright, ask you how you're feeling, ask you how your conversations are going. It's less manipulation and more of a support network. So honestly, it's barely staged at all."
Love Island's executive producer and senior casting producer, Lewis Evans, previously told the Mirror: "We don't tell them anything about what to say or what to do. The only thing we do is ask that if they go for a cigarette, they go alone as we can't film chats that happen out there, but we don't tell them what to say or how to act."
