Caroline Flack has responded to Jameela Jamil after she criticised Love Island for its lack of body diversity.
The host of the ITV2 reality series questioned whether Jameela had “actually watched” the show and questioned if she was judging it “on face value”.
After the line-up for the new series was announced earlier this week, Jameela referenced contestant Anna Vakili, tweeting: “The producers of Love Island think this slim woman counts as their new token ‘plus size’ contestant? Are they drunk?”
Responding to her remarks, Caroline told The Sun: “She’s always criticised the show.
“I wonder if she’s actually watched it, because it isn’t about what you see on face value.”
Caroline continued: “I’m a massive fan of Jameela and what she stands for.
“Of course, people will look at things on face value and judge them, but the show is so much more than that, it really is.”
Jameela’s tweet actually attracted some criticism itself, as former Love Islander Kady McDermott told her: “Who even said she was the plus size contestant?
“Maybe we shouldn’t be labelling women as anything and just letting them be who they are. Skinny/slim/curvy/obese who cares.”
Meanwhile, Love Island bosses’ response to the lack of body diversity among this year’s contestants also raised some eyebrows earlier this week.
Some critics on social media were not impressed when the show’s creative director Richard Cowles said at a press conference: “First and foremost, it’s an entertainment show and it’s about people wanting to watch who you’ve got on screen falling in love with one another.
“Yes, we want to be as representative as possible but we also want them to be attracted to one another.”
He added: “We’re not saying that everyone that’s in there is how you’re supposed to look. We’re saying here’s a group of people that we want to watch for eight weeks, and we want to watch them fall in love. That’s not at the front of our mind, but we do want to be as diverse as possible.”
A rep for the show previously said: “When casting for Love Island, we always strive to reflect the age, experiences and diversity of our audience and this year is no exception with a cross section of different personalities and backgrounds in the villa.”
Love Island returns to our screens on Monday 3 June at 9pm on ITV2.
From: Dublin, Ireland
Occupation: Scientist
She says: "I think people may be surprised. Every time I say that I’m a scientist, people are shocked. I think there are loads of intelligent people on reality television."
From: Newquay
Occupation: Surfer
She says: "I stand out and I’m different to the usual girls that might go on the show. I’m more into sports as well as being glam. I can do both, which makes me stand out compared to other girls. I’m more of a guy’s girl than a girl’s girl."
Claim to fame: "The last guy I was with was Charlie [Frederick] from last year’s Love Island. We got together a few weeks after he came out of the villa."
From: Newcastle
Occupation: Beauty therapist
She says: "I like tall guys who are muscly and athletic, I like people that go to the gym because that’s what I like. I want someone who is funny and that I can have fun with and doesn’t take themselves too seriously because I am daft."
Claim to fame: "I know a few of the former Islanders from Newcastle, like Adam Collard and Ellie Brown. Everyone knows everyone in Newcastle!"
From: Worthing, Sussex
Occupation: Cabin crew
She says: "I I have weird celebrity crushes like David Walliams and Simon
Cowell. You’d never go there obviously but there is something about them."
Claim to fame: "I went on a night out once and Liam from One Direction was there. We were in the VIP bit and so was he and he walked past me and I smiled and he said ‘Hey, you alright? What’s your name?’ He told us to come and sit in his booth and we had a picture together."
From: London
Occupation: Pharmacist
She says: "I’m difficult to handle, I’m a drama queen and I overreact. I’m clumsy and I’m a messy eater. I spill my drinks all the time. I’m stubborn as well, if I’m in a mood then it’s really hard to get me out of the mood."
Claim to fame: "I ended up on the Iranian News earlier this year when my sister and I were away in Qatar with two Iranian footballers who have a huge following. Suddenly my followers went up by 20,000 and I started being tagged in fan pages!"
From: Airdrie, Scotland
Occupation: Gym owner
He says: "That’s a medical condition that I have… a wandering eye! I’ve never really been loyal in any of my relationships. My last relationship, I actually got caught cheating for the first time in my life and it changed everything for me. I saw how much it hurt her and what it did to her. So, for me going to into Love Island, it’s going to be the biggest test of my life."
From: Manchester
Occupation: Boxer
He says: "I won’t be afraid to go and have a splash about in the pool, I’ll mingle with people and find out about everyone because at the end of the day I’ll be living with these people for a long time so it’ll be nice to see if I have a bromance in there, along with a relationship. It’s nice to be a bit standoutish."
Claim to fame: "It’s probably my brother, Tyson, but I’m my own man and I’ve said it throughout my whole boxing career. I don’t want to be labelled as his little brother, I’m my own man and I’m doing the best that I can do in life and that’s all I’m setting out to achieve."
From: South east London
Occupation: Catering company owner
He says: "I’ve only had one girlfriend. I knew her locally but I think we started chatting through social media. I meet people in bars, that’s my go-to."
Claim to fame: "I used to play semi-professional rugby."
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Firefighter
He says: "I get complimented on my smile a lot. People seem to be obsessed with my lips. I’d rate myself ten out of ten, I would have said nine but I’m a hero so it bumps it up."
From: London
Occupation: Chef and semi-pro rugby player
He says: "I’m upbeat and cheeky and outrageous with my own friends so hopefully that continues in the villa. I’m always on a mission to make people
laugh.That’ll be of value in there."
From: South Wales
Occupation: Aircraft engineer
He says: "I would say my best feature is my tan - give me an hour and I am golden."
From: Shropshire
Occupation: Ballroom and Latin dancer
He says: "I have lived a very sheltered life because of my dancing, I’ve not done a lot of going out partying, going on dates because I haven’t had time to. Being truthful I’ve probably been on less than ten dates, maybe five dates. I have never met anyone online, I’ve never used a dating app."
Claim to fame: "I would say my claim to fame is that I’m on Dancing with the Stars Ireland and AJ Pritchard from Strictly Come Dancing is my brother."