They say that compromise is the key to a happy relationship, and so for the past few months every night at 9pm I have sat down to watch Love Island in exchange for TV dibs during test matches and live football games.
I want to say that I’ve hated every moment of it, but the reality is that I’ve that it has been a thoroughly enjoyable series. I’ve laughed out loud, shed the occasional tear and gasped on numerous occasions as the cast endured twist and turns that turned things on their head in the beep of a text message.
And I’m not alone.
The show has garnered audience figures of over two million people on some nights, with Chanel 5 forced to push back its own eviction to 10pm because it clashed with the show.
Which is an interesting parallel in the grand scheme of things.
Not since builder Craig Phillips won the first ever Big Brother competition some 17 years ago has there been such hype over a reality television show.
And the parallels between the two shows are stark.
Phillips is the Kem of the island – buff, working class and friends with everybody.
And remember Anna Nolan? So Camilla!
Sada Walkington has got a lot of Gabby in her and Darren Ramsay is her partner Marcel. Nasty Nick got booted out quick just like Theo and has obvious crossovers in terms of vote rigging.
But the main parallel is the fact that everyone’s talking about it. Office chit-chat is a hum of Love Island gossip, Facebook feeds are dominated by it and even high street shops are stocking Love Island t-shirts with popular phrases from this season’s show.
Perhaps that is why the rumours are that the show could be sold by ITV for £1 billion. Having seen how well the show has done, it has now been claimed that ITV are looking to sell the format for other countries to create their own.
And I for one am not surprised. This is a seriously entertaining show and a much-needed addition to our reality TV scene. Long may it continue.
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