\'Love Island\' has been cancelled.
The hugely popular ITV2 dating show - which is hosted by Laura Whitmore - won\'t be returning this summer, with bosses pulling the plug and admitting they would not be able to guarantee the safety of the contestants during the coronavirus pandemic.
Kevin Lygo, Director of Television at ITV, said: "We have tried every which way to make \'Love Island\' this summer but logistically it\'s just not possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved and that for us is the priority.
"In normal circumstances we would be preparing very soon to travel out to the location in Mallorca to get the villa ready but clearly that\'s now out of the question.
"We are very sorry for fans of the show but making it safely is our prime concern and \'Love Island\' will be back stronger than ever in 2021."
Meanwhile, an insider noted that preparations for the axed summer edition will instead be deferred to the winter version in 2021.
The source told The Sun Online: "A huge amount of work had already gone into this series in terms of laying out plans for the show.
"Casting had also started, with interviews on Zoom for new applicants planned to begin this week. Rising stars on social media had also been tapped up by producers, who were already picking out their favourites.
"Everything will be deferred to the winter version and everyone who was being lined up to appear in this series will be asked to see if they can appear in that series."
Although the new summer series won\'t be going ahead, \'Love Island\' fans can still watch all six seasons on BritBox.
