Love Island is too lucrative to cancel – but it is boredom, not drama, that has made it lose its appealīut the new additions to the schedules lack one key attribute that makes Love Island a success: interactivity.Įvery so often, we have a chance to influence the game, vote off the islanders we don’t like, keep the ones we do and, sometimes, reveal secrets and upset the villa’s equilibrium. In some ways, they’re an improvement on Love Island’s increasingly out-of-touch format.īoth shows feature gay couples, a step towards inclusion and diversity that ITV2’s boss, Kevin Lygo, has repeatedly claimed is impossible for Love Island because of the “ logistical difficulties” it presents. Mafs and Ready to Mingle get a lot right: both air nightly on their respective channels, sating the moreish, compulsive appetite for reality TV, offering viewers their next hit before the effects of the previous episode have worn off ( Ready to Mingle has gone one step further, releasing five episodes at a time every Monday on ITV Hub). Comedian Katherine Ryan is the host of ITV2’s new dating series, Ready To Mingle (Photo: Potato/Ricky Darko/ITV) However, only half of the men are single and if Sophia chooses someone who already has a partner, she will lose out on the £50,000 prize money.
Hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan, the series sets up residence in a Devon house where one single woman, Sophia, moves in with 12 men hoping to find The One. Its lead isn’t assured, as ITV2 hopes to keep Love Island’s seat warm with Ready to Mingle, which starts at 9pm on Monday (6 September). Monday’s opening episode attracted one million viewers. When they don’t, it’s watch-through-your-fingers excellent TV. When the couples get on, it’s a heartwarming reminder that true love really is out there, even on a madcap reality series.