Dating shows are for fame not love – but Love Island isn’t the main culprit

DATING shows aren’t designed to help their contestants find real love, according to our experts. Instead the format, casting and environment usually means the contributors are put into conflict and chaos. Julia Majchrzak, Lorenzo Alessi, Maya Jama, Jasmine Muller and Kavan Murphy at the final of this year’s Love Island Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Emily Miller and Cam Holmes are one of the few Too Hot To Handle success stories That’s the opinion of Jake Penkethman, one of The Sun’s reality TV experts, who has analysed the success rates of telly’s biggest romance series to find if any really promote real love. It’s discussed on this week’s edition of Showbiz Fix: Uncut, our deep dive into the biggest topics in celebrity. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Senior showbiz reporter Jake said: “I would look at Too Hot to Handle and almost be like, is this really a dating show? “The format goes against everything you would expect from a dating show. Like, they’re trying to sabotage this love. Read more on dating shows “And I think for me in the end, I would say it’s bordering more on that reality competition format. “You’re competing to retain an amount of money. “So my view on that is, is it a dating show? I would say it’s probably one that’s bordering more reality for reality’s sake.” Too Hot To Handle asks its contestants to abstain from physical intimacy and develop a real connection to win a huge prize pot, but the format flings temptation in their way. Most read in TV Deputy TV Editor Felicity Cross said: “At its core Too Hot to Handle has this huge hypocrisy. “It exposes the problem at the heart of all dating shows, which is it’s meant to be to find love. But the format and production elements throughout are constantly trying to sabotage that.” The Sun’s Jake Penkethman shared dating show intell with Felicity Cross on Showbix Fix: Uncut Curtis Pritchard and Toby Aromolaran are two Love Island stars who have found success on other dating shows thanks to NOT finding one the one, seen here with the case of Celeb Ex On The Beach Credit: Getty Data suggests Too Hot to Handle has a five per cent success rate of its couples finding love, whilst Ex On The Beach has just four per cent. Love Island fares better on ten per cent – but Jake thinks Islanders find more success on the outside if they don’t find love. Jake said: “I think it’s almost become that if you’re a memorable character who doesn’t find love on Love Island, you’re probably gonna get asked to go back for All Stars or you might get asked to go on another dating show. “We’ve seen a lot of the Love Island lot crossover to Ex On The Beach. “And so therefore, is it worth not finding love because the TV opportunities and of course, the money that comes with those TV opportunities, could put you in a better position than if you are remaining in a committed couple. “You’ve had your Scotts [Van Der Sluis], Caseys [O’Gorman], Curtis [Pritchard], and they’ve almost made a career out of being single. Like that is part of their job and part of their brand. And it’s clearly worked really, really well for them.” Watch the full episode of Showbiz Fix: Uncut on The Sun’s Showbiz YouTube. Scott van-der-Sluis found love with Leanne Amaning on his fourth stint of Love Island – All Stars in February 2026 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Comment now