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Love Island producers reject claims of casting ‘secret actors’

IMDb listings, short films and Star Now ratings -but does that really make reality contestants "actors"?

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Is Love Island Australia peppered with ‘secret actors’ all just playing a role for the cameras?

That’s the implication from media reports -including (awkwardly) by Nine-owned Pedestrian TV, which quoted from the So Dramatic! podcast that Claudia Bonifazio and Tak Chipangura appear on IMDB as actors in some Aussie film projects.

Strictly speaking that’s true but as anyone who watches these shows knows, dating shows attract a certain kind of spotlight-hungry individual.

Many reality faces have tried their hand at short films, and walk-ons in commercials… having a Star Now page or an IMDb listing does not make one an actor.

Executive Producer Alex Mavroidakis told TV Tonight, while the show attracted extroverts it remains authentically unscripted.

“Love Island Australia has no script. With the exception of a few format points that Sophie Monk has to commit to memory, every word comes from the mouths of the Islanders – never the pen of writers,” he said.

“The fact is that the Love Island Villa will always be populated by young, attractive, extroverted Australians and anyone who has even been in a dog food commercial can have an IMDB account!

“Feigning ‘surprise’ that some reality TV contestants have had bit parts in a dramas, done some extra work or stared in a student film is like being shocked that a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? contest once won a pub quiz.”

Love Island Australia concludes 6pm Tuesday on 9Now and 8:30pm on 9GO!

7 Responses

  2. I have no doubt it’s all unscripted. What writer would want to own up to creating the dialogue found in these shows? 😉 The participants are actors…Instagram influencers…OnlyFans wannabes…all there to get more followers and 15 minutes of fame. (And then claim they were badly edited when it doesn’t go to plan.) Although, as “Unreal” showed us, they do have producers manipulating participants to a high degree behind the scenes to try and push the show where they want it to go.

  3. Haha, the Amazing Race is as real as MAFS, MKR or any other reality TV show. You won’t really find anything authentic on the 3 commercial networks. Hunted was the worst for pretending it’s real, despite making sure the people use their credit cards every few days and stay in contact with friends, which is just ridiculous.

    Even the Block that used to play it relatively straight has shown how manipulated and out of touch it’s become this year.

    It’s all fake, so suspend your imagination and try and enjoy it for what you think it is!

    1. The one thing that was dragging down Hunted were the inconsistencies, so ideally it would be best to eliminate that.

      It’s not good enough and an excuse to tell viewers to just enjoy it for what it is, just to have an excuse to try and not lose viewers. I couldn’t enjoy it for what it was, and I had switched off after a couple of episodes. It’s misleading to call these shows reality shows.

      When the genre started, the main appeal was that it’s reality and not scripted.

      1. I actually meant enjoy it for what you think it is, not for what it’s appearing to be!

        If you like reality then go for it, over look the obvious manipulation and editing and be mindlessly entertained for an hour and a half.

        If you’re a more discerning viewer then by all means switch it off because you can’t stand the overly produced rubbish filling up every night of the FTA schedule. Personally I give everything I’m slightly interested in one episode, and this year I haven’t returned for a second on almost anything I’ve watched. Too much content on streaming to waste time going something boring and fake picks up and becomes less boring and less fake.

  5. The producer has a point. It’s a stretch. Though there’s scepticism in reality TV. If reality TV is to survive, it needs to be credible. I don’t mind the scrutiny.

    I was disappointed when I found out they were doing retakes on The Amazing Race. It’s supposed to be a real race.

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