Nadia Essex has revealed plans to launch her own dating show as a more authentic alternative to Love Island
The TV matchmaker, who rose to fame starring alongside Eden Blackman on the first few series of Celebs Go Dating, explained that she’s hoping to make her own TV show featuring “normal people” looking for “love not fame”.
"I'd just have normal people with normal jobs - no influencers or models, and if you've got over 50,000 social media followers you wouldn't be allowed to apply,” she told The Daily Star.
"I'd also want to film the whole process, including the aftercare, so viewers can see it all for themselves. I'm brainstorming ideas at the moment."
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Love Island – which aired some if it’s most dramatic scenes yet last night – has long been criticised for its lack of diversity and normal people, and has in recent years become something of a platform for Instagram models and influencers to enhance their following.
This year ITV bosses promised a more diverse lineup of body types, but fans were left disappointed when presented with a cast of slim, toned and glamorous twenty-somethings.
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“We try and be as representative and diverse as possible but first and foremost it’s an entertainment show,” said producer Richard Cowles after fans were left wondering where the rumoured “plus-size” contestant was.
"It’s about people wanting to watch and them reacting and falling in love with another. Yes, we want to be as representative as possible but we also want them to be attracted to one another.
"I’m not saying everyone that’s in there is how you’re supposed to look, what we’re saying is they are a group of people we want to watch for eight weeks and we want to watch them fall in love."