Viewers of the latest season of Love Island think that one of the show’s singletons, Molly Marsh, has been ‘planted’ by producers.
It comes after the new season of the ITV show hit viewers’ screens at the start of the month, and people have already found a huge problem with the reality show…
Now, Love Island is somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. The first season aired in 2015, as a reboot of the original celebrity version of the series which ran back in 2005 and 2006.
Although the first season was a bit of a slow burn with viewers, the second season captivated viewers with the all the drama, which even resulted in Zara Holland being controversially stripped of her Miss Great Britain title.
By the third season, Love Island was a staple of post-watershed summer TV, with the love stories of Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham, as well as Molly Mae and Tommy Fury, making for unmissable programming.
Flash forward to 2023 and the show has seen somewhat of a transformation, with many viewing the show as a quickfire way to boost the beginnings of an influencer career. Changes to the show over time include the banning of smoking on camera (and hence the removal of the villa’s smoking area), a limit on the amount contestants can drink and most recently a ban on contestants having active social medias while inside the villa. They have also switched from their partnerships with fast fashion brands, and are now working with eBay, in a move praised by sustainability experts.
The show has also tried to engage viewers more with twists such as Casa Amor, as well as switching up which villa they use. However, it seems to have done little to impress people, as they have already found a huge problem with this year’s show…
The latest season’s viewing figures have been some of the most dire the show has ever seen. On this season’s premier episode, the show only drew in 1.3 million viewers and an 11% audience share. With ITV X viewers added in, this comes to a total of 1.7 million, per The Mirror.
Last year, the show managed to draw in 2.4 million viewers on average in the summer. However, 4 years prior, the show’s first episode reached a whopping 3.3 million viewers.
Furthermore, viewers found one detail about this year’s first episode to be incredibly frustrating. For those trying to tune in from the ITV X player, they were met with so many glitches that they deemed it “impossible to watch.” So much so, that many viewers gave up on trying to watch entirely!
But that’s not the only thing bothering viewers, as this year, as some observers think they’ve already spotted a feud bubbling between 2 contestants.
Viewers found the show’s Saturday night Unseen Bits spinoff revealed moments of tension between contestants Molly Marsh and Catherine Agbaje, including one ‘disrespectful’ moment where Molly called Catherine by the wrong name, calling her Chantelle instead.
One Twitter user wrote: “Molly calling Catherine Chantel is giving micro aggression.”
A second commented: “A bit disrespectful Molly calling Catherine the wrong name.”
But this isn’t the only issue fans have found with the twenty-one-year-old musical theatre performer, with some viewers taking to social media to theorise that Molly has been planted in the show by producers.
“Apparently, Molly worked behind the scenes on Love Island,” one viewer wrote on Reddit, alongside a snap of the islander.
“I have to say it she does feel a bit like a ITV production plant and tbh it’s kind of off putting”, another wrote.
A third added: “They’re all production plants though. Quite literally”.
The Sun reported that Molly’s place in the lineup was secured when she visited the South African villa for the show’s winter edition earlier this year.
“Molly was scouted after visiting the villa in South Africa earlier this year,” a source told the outlet.
“She was on the tour as an invited guest when she caught the eyes of producers.
“Molly made it clear she would love to be a part of Love Island and she was told to audition. After going through the process, she’s now a shoo-in to fly to Majorca later this month.”
Molly herself has previously spoken about her previous villa experience, as per OK: “With my job being in social media, I’ve had some amazing opportunities to go on press trips and I’ve actually been out to the Love Island Villas in Mallorca and South Africa.
“Having the experience to walk around both was amazing but to now actually live in the Villa is going to be incredible.”
