Saturday 11 June 2022 10:10 PM Love Island accused of fixing relationship between Gemma Owen and younger man ... trends now
ITV has been accused of orchestrating a romance with a younger contestant for 19-year-old star Gemma Owen after complaints were made about her kissing Davide Sanclimenti, who is eight years older.
Last Thursday, the daughter of former England footballer Michael Owen began flirting with Luca Bish, a 23-year-old fishmonger – and on Friday night he chose Miss Owen to couple up with, prompting speculation that producers are behind relationships in the show, which claims not to be fake.
It comes as The Mail on Sunday can reveal that there has been a raft of complaints to the television regulator Ofcom over Miss Owen’s romance with Sanclimenti, 27, who has described himself as an ‘Italian Stallion’.
Viewers are understood to have been uncomfortable about their age difference.
New couple? Last Thursday, the daughter of former England footballer Michael Owen began flirting with Luca Bish, a 23-year-old fishmonger
The flirtation between the pair was brief, with sources suggesting that producers on the ITV2 dating series moved quickly to ensure that Miss Owen’s attention was caught by Bish.
Meanwhile, Sanclimenti has been flirting with Ekin-Su Culculoglu, who is the same age as him.
A source told the MoS: ‘The outrage about Gemma and Davide wasn’t expected at all by the show’s producers – they didn’t see it coming. Eight years isn’t a massive gap, but it is the fact that Gemma is still a teenager and so young that her being with a man in his late twenties seems to have upset the fans.
‘Now there is huge industry speculation that behind the scenes Love Island staff did a quick reverse ferret because they saw the backlash. If that is the case it makes a huge mockery of the show.’
Complaints: ITV has been accused of orchestrating a romance with a younger contestant for 19-year-old star Gemma Owen after complaints were made about her kissing Davide Sanclimenti, who is eight years older
ITV denies any fakery on Love Island, but does concede it is a ‘combination of reality and produced elements that are reflective of what’s happening in the villa’.
The source also voiced suspicion, given the complaints to Ofcom, that a conversation between Miss Owen and Sanclimenti in
