One Disabled Love Islander: Is our work here done?

Love Island is arguably one of the UK’s largest TV shows with over 2.46million viewers tuning in for this year’s series. It is also, perhaps, one of the most controversial TV shows on air. Love Island has received criticism for their lack of ethnically and body diverse contestants, as well as its absence of disabled or LGBTQ+ contestants, and for its lack of mental health support for contestants and team, especially following the suicides of Sophie Gradon, 32, Mike Thalassitis, 26, and Caroline Flack, 40. The show has come under fire in recent years and has promised to be working with professionals to increase mental health support and diversity on the show, and has been praised for introducing a disabled love islander on this year’s series but is this really as praise-worthy as it’s being made out to be?

Now, I am a self-confessed Love Island fan. I look forward to 9pm and being able to sit back, relax and let my mind go a little numb to the daily stresses. It’s obvious that millions of people across the country adore this show despite its diversity issues, but many are not blind to these issues. It is clear that there is crucial work needed by Love Island producers to make the show more inclusive. It would also be in the producers best interests to up their inclusivity on the show, it would likely increase their viewer numbers further as well as the amount of positive responses the show receives. 

So they’ve taken a step in the right direction with Hugo Hammond, Love Island’s first disabled contestant. Better late than never, right? Hugo is a 24 year old PE teacher from Hampshire, and was born with a club foot, making him the first physically disabled Islander. Hugo, however, says he considers himself “not a disabled person, but just a person who has a disability.” The label ‘disabled’ can often feel limiting and is attached to stereotypes of people who are capable of less, which is just not true.

We are now over halfway through the current series and Hugo has been one of the most popular islanders this year. And whilst he has so far been unlucky in love (I’d love for him to find someone special before the end of the series!), he has been a friend to all and audiences have seen him go above and beyond as an islander this year. Hugo seems to have proven to audiences this year that having a physical disability does not mean that someone is unable to do things, but instead that they are able to interact and socialise like everyone else. 

Many people have highlighted that Hugo’s disability has taken a backseat on the show, it’s not been discussed at length, which is quite right - a person’s disability is a part of who they are, it does not solely define them. Many young people across the country are grateful to finally be seeing people in the media that represent them. Whilst every disability is different and will impact a person differently, seeing a diverse range of able bodied and disabled people on our screens is a step towards inclusivity, a step towards diversity. As someone with an invisible disability, seeing people like myself on screen is unusual - unless they explicitly disclose their invisible condition, they may just look like the ‘average’ person, just like I do. But seeing someone with a disability on one of the largest shows on TV restores hope to anyone with a disability, invisible or not, physical or mental, that their condition does not define them or restrict their capabilities in life.

Without a doubt Love Island still has a long way to go to make the show inclusive of everyone, whether that’s ethnicity or body type, sexuality or disability, but they have begun to take a step in the right direction. Their work here is not done, more must be done to make Love Island seem accessible and representative of its audience - afterall, who wants to watch a reality show where everything and everyone feels entirely unattainable.

Originally published in The Collective Magazine 2022