Channel Nine has defended a racy promo for the upcoming series of its sexually-charged dating show Love Island Australia that was caught using paid actors instead of any of the show’s actual stars.
The show, which is set to debut on 9Go and 9Now next month, will be hosted by ex-Bachelorette Sophie Monk. In the promo, Monk is seen piloting a plane full of swimsuit-clad models who are heading for “six steamy weeks in a Spanish villa”.
However, Nine has defended the use of the models over actual contestants. “The promo does not feature the actual cast of Love Island – they’re models and actors but they are indicative of how good-looking the cast of the series will be,” it said in a statement to media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OThI1MLWHY
In Nine’s defence, the whole premise of the show – which has been described as “Bachelor In Paradise meets Big Brother” – is for the contestants to meet for the first time on the Spanish island of Majorca. Hence, it would be difficult to show them together prior to the show’s debut.
Meanwhile, according to a report on The Daily Telegraph the raunchy love-in’s had no problems attracting would-be contestants, with some 7000 fit young things applying in the hope of becoming a D-grade reality TV star. That said, the figures can’t match the 10,000 that applied for this year’s season of Married At First Sight or the whopping 15,000 that applied for Ten’s Australian Survivor in 2016.
