The stars of the new series of Love Island, which has started tonight on ITV2, will be facing a social media ban for the first time.
Contestants on the ninth series of the hit reality show will be instructed to pause their social accounts, including Instagram and Twitter.
It’s part of ITV’s new duty of care guidelines, designed to protect and support the islanders.
In previous years, those taking part in the scantily-clad search for love handed the reigns of their social media accounts over to their loved ones, who posted content on their behalf.
Those actually in the Love Island villa have never had access to social media, leaving their families on the outside to face any trolling that has cropped up on their accounts.
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Love Island contestants’ Instagram accounts will remain silent until they leave the villa. Credit: ITV
But this year it’ll be all change, with winter Love Island contestants told to pause their social media accounts, including their lucrative Instagram platforms, to ‘protect both the Islanders and their families from the adverse effects of social media’.
The move has drawn support from former contestants and psychologists, reports the BBC, who say the show now has a ‘gold standard’ when it comes to duty of care.
ITV has thrown a huge amount of resource behind contestants’ wellbeing in recent years, following the tragic deaths of former Love Islanders Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon.
ITV said: “As part of extended measures to protect both the Islanders and their families from the adverse effects of social media, participants will be asked to pause handles and accounts on their social media platforms for the duration of their time on the show.
“Islanders’ accounts will remain dormant while they are in the Villa, so that nothing is published on their behalf.”
Also new this year will be the show’s presenter, as Maya Jama steps up to fill the stillettos of Laura Whitmore.
Those taking part in winter Love Island include Michelle Keegan‘s ‘body double’ Olivia, PE teacher and part-time rugby player from Manchester Kai, and farmer Will, who already has a massive social media following on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Despite the silence on their accounts, fans will still be able to find them and follow them, with Islanders typically leaving the show with hundreds of thousands – if not more than a million – new followers.
Featured image: ITV
TV & Showbiz
Yard Act announce handful of new headline shows ahead of 6Music gig in Manchester
Clementine Hall
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024, including a show right here in Manchester – but not before their BBC 6Music Festival gig later this week.
We are so, SO back.
It’s been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a limited run of domestic shows for later in the year including their homecoming gig at the O2 Academy in Leeds on Friday, 6 November.
But after playing over in Yorkshire, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on the following Friday (13 Nov).
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album, Where’s My Utopia?, with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August ’24.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy.
It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have been keeping busy writing and recording their third studio LP, as well as heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives – oh, and that intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to this coming autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait. We spoke to them a little while back and know how much big stuff they’ve got further pipeline; you can see the interview HERE.
Booking just three headline slots, the handful of tour dates are as follows:
06 Nov – Leeds
13 Nov – Manchester
26 Nov – London
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday, 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday, 27 March. Sign up to grab yours right HERE.
As for those wanting to find out more about this year’s 6Music Fest, you find the full lineup and more down below.
Gladiators Live Tour to make ‘triumphant’ return to Manchester on UK arena tour
Emily Sergeant
The Gladiators Live Tour will make a triumphant return in 2026.
Following its explosive debut in 2025 and overwhelming fan demand, the Gladiators Live Tour is set to head out on a UK tour later this year, bringing the iconic phenomenon back to arenas nationwide for an electrifying new run of shows, and making a stop off in Manchester, of course.
Audiences will, once again, have the chance to experience the action-packed spectacle featuring the stars of the hit BBC reboot series on an epic scale.
The 2025 live tour thrilled audiences nationwide, selling over 200,000 tickets and proving the arena spectacular is ‘bigger, bolder, and more electrifying’ than ever, and that energy is only set to continue this year when the show returns to Manchester’s popular AO Arena.
GLADIATORS, READY!
Following its epic debut in 2025 the triumphant live show brings the energy to Manchester on 14 & 15 Nov!
This adrenaline-fuelled event sees the legendary Gladiators storm back into the arena to face fearless contenders in a heart-pounding live adaptation of the smash-hit television phenomenon.
Expect iconic fan-favourite events, breathtaking stunts, epic head-to-head battles and the unforgettable Eliminator finale.
Featuring stars from the hit BBC series, audiences are being told to expect a truly immersive, high-octane experience, as arenas are transformed into modern gladiatorial battlegrounds complete with purpose-built sets, spectacular lighting, and cinematic staging.
The Gladiators Live Tour 2026 kicks off in Aberdeen on 10 October, before heading to other major cities like Glasgow, London, and Birmingham, as well as northern locations like Leeds and Newcastle, and of course, Manchester’s AO Arena for two nights on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 November.
Tickets officially go on sale this Friday 27 March, with two shows per day available, and you can grab them when they go live here.
Daisy Jackson -
16th January 2023 
