One of Malta’s most popular and controversial shows, Love Island Malta, will return next May, organisers have announced.
Love Island Malta, a local iteration of the UK-led reality franchise, follows “single and ready to mingle” contestants, better known as “islanders”, as they compete for the prize money by coupling up and surviving public vote eliminations.
Earlier this year, for six weeks, viewers followed the lives of 19 single people who lived in the Love Island villa, with the hope of finding love, as they were judged, scrutinised, and voted by Malta’s population.
The show aired almost every day between May and June.
In the end, Chelsea Bagnall-Falzon and Allen Piscopo were crowned winners of the first seasons of Love Island Malta. Two weeks later, the couple announced they had split up.
The announcement of a new season was made on Love Island Malta’s Instagram page, also announcing that applications for ‘islanders’ are open.
Anyone interested in applying must be aged at least 18 years old at the date of application and must not be employed by Media Exclusive Limited.
Love Island Malta kicked off back in May on TVM, with almost a third of the country- 160,000 people- tuning in to watch the first episode.
Organisers said that according to a survey, 170,000 people watched parts of the show. Some 93% of the surveyed 16 to 25-year-olds said they had watched the show at some point.
It was not without controversy, even before the show started to air when producers had been forced to ask online commentators to “be kind” after contestants received a slew of insults.
One Love Island Malta contestant, Rani Dahl, left the show after only two days citing health concerns.
She later claimed that producers were threatening to take legal action for not disclosing her OnlyFans page, as well as her medical issues.
Rani was the second contestant to quit the show of her own volition, after Sabrina Grima left following a week at the villa, saying she needed to do so for the sake of her own mental health.
The show was a hit, as scores of fans of the reality show attended a 'meet-and-greet' with the finalists.