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Love Island Announces Changes Following Death Of Mike Thalassitis

Love Island Announces Changes Following Death Of Mike Thalassitis

ITV bosses have said they have entered a 'period of soul searching' and have asked 'whether anything could have been done'

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

Bosses of ITV's Love Island have said that they plan to change how they look after contestants after they leave the show following the deaths of two former stars.

The managers of the show have said that they will be offering 'bespoke training' to all future contestants, following the death of Sophie Gradon, 32, in June last year and more recently, Mike Thalassitis, who passed away on 15 March.

Mike Thalassitis.
PA

All contestants will be given therapy after leaving the island, as well as being given help with social media and how to manage their money.

In a letter to The Sun, Richard Cowles, who is creative director of ITV Studios, outlined his plans.

Mr Cowles wrote: "When something so awful happens we naturally enter a period of soul searching and ask whether anything could have been done.

Sophie Gradon passed away last June.
Instagram/sophiegradon

"This review has led us to extend our support processes to offer therapy to all Islanders and not only those that reach out to us. And we will be delivering bespoke training to all future Islanders to include social media and financial management.

"The key focus will be for us to no longer be reliant on the Islanders asking us for support but for us to proactively check in with them on a regular basis."

Mike Thalassitis, 26, died last Friday after appearing on the show in 2017. He was found in a park in north London and police are not treating his death as suspicious. Sophie Gradon starred in the show the year before and passed away last June.

Tributes left outside the cafe that Mike Thalassitis planned to open.
PA

Other former Love Island contestants have since spoken out about the struggle of adapting to life after the island, which sees them become household names overnight.

Some have criticised the previous approach of the show, which has offered support if needed - but not on a compulsory basis.

Megan Barton Hanson, who was at the receiving end of a torrent of online abuse following her bout on last year's Love Island, has spoken out about the difficulties of dealing with trolls - admitting she has the show's psychologist's number in her phone.

Writing in The Sun, she said: "When I came out of the villa ITV sat down with me and went through everything that had happened to make sure I was prepared but really - how can you be?

"I was just an ordinary girl who had been cast as a pantomime villain because we hooked up when he was still with Laura - but my boyfriend Wes [Nelson] was the golden boy.

"I'm one of the lucky ones in a way: I always understood that there was going to be a price to pay for the celebrity that followed Love Island, but even I couldn't envisage how high it would be."

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Featured Image Credit: ITV2

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, News, UK