ITV bosses have reportedly launched a private investigation into whether or not staff were tipping off agents over Love Island contestants.
As this year’s Love Island finalists settle into the UK, the Sun claim telly executives have quizzed staff on the popular ITV2 dating series over the closeness between two talent agencies who regularly represent the up-and-coming reality stars.
The outlet claims the talent firms – whose names have been kept under wraps – sometimes approached future contestants just hours before they signed up to take part on the hugely popular TV show.
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While there has been no suggestion of criminal activity at play, the continued coincidence has prompted fears that staff were tipping off the agents for a healthy price.
Concerns have since been raised by the country's eight leading talent agents who have since reportedly wrote to ITV.
Some firms even went on to share their beliefs that specific Islanders had been given a more favourable edit on the reality show, therefore improving their chances of winning the show.
The publication stated that there is no suggestion that any of the stars from this year’s series were involved in the backdoor scheme.
They include hit winners Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti, runners-up Gemma Owen and Luca Bish and finalists Tasha Ghouri and Andrew Le Page.
Do you have a story about one of this year's Love Island stars? Contact us at [email protected]
The publication claim ITV’s investigation found no wrongdoings, with a spokesman from the broadcaster stating there was “no financial agreement in place” with agents.
The news outlet goes on to claim that one of the agencies – which represents a number of household names – is thought to have somehow repeatedly learnt contestants’ identities in advance.
This inside knowledge allowed the company to sign up the potential stars ahead of the ITV series.
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One example of this allegedly saw a female contestant swiftly become a fan favourite before they received a slew of lucrative brand deals – of which their agency takes a cut.
The outlet claims that this year when rival firms, some as many as ten, flew out to Majorca to pitch themselves to contestants, that the finalists had already made a decision as to which agency to work with.
An inside source told the publication: “In recent years there’s become a number of concerns that deals were a foregone conclusion and any lobbying was a waste of time and money.
“That has led to suspicions someone is earning an extra bit of cash to point them to one of two ‘favoured agencies.”
ITV states as part of their duty of care plan includes helping contestants to find an agent if they do not have one, but is not involved in which agencies the contestants eventually agree to sign with.
Daily Star has reached out to ITV for a comment.
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