Mike Thalassitis' death sparks calls for Love Island to be cancelled

The reality TV star was found dead in woodland near his home on Saturday 
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Emma Powell20 March 2019
The Weekender

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Love Island fans are calling for the show to be scrapped in the wake of Mike Thalassitis’ death.

The reality TV star was found hanged in a park near his home in Edmonton on Saturday. He was 26.

His death sparked concerns for the wellbeing of contestants post-Love Island with a handful of previous stars slamming show bosses for a lack of care.

Viewers are now demanding the show be cancelled, claiming it is not “entertainment” when some are left suffering.

Troubles: Love Island star Mike Thalassitis took his own life
ITV

One tweeted: “I f****** love Love Island but that s*** needs to be cancelled. Along with every other show that allows such young and innocent people to victimised by millions (sic).”

A second posted: “@LoveIsland should really scrap the show altogether. Peoples entertainment definitely isn’t worth innocent people feeling s*** enough that they don’t want to be alive anymore.”

A third simply wrote: “Time Love Island got cancelled.”

Thalassitis appeared on Love Island in 2017 and earned himself the nickname “Muggy Mike”. His fellow co-star, and close friend, Montana Brown said he was struggling at the end of last year and sought help from a therapist to get him through a “rough time” which saw work opportunities dry up.

Speaking on This Morning she said: “He did go through a really rough time and I know he was really, really struggling and that’s when I thought something really terrible is going to happen if I don’t do something.

“At that point the work wasn’t coming in, Celebs Go Dating had finished. The buzz had kind of gone. He wanted to be his own boss and he didn’t know how to do that. He had a massive tax bill that he paid. The stress really got to him and he thought the fame isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.”

A second contestant, Jonny Mitchell, also slammed Love Island bosses for not offering enough support to stars on leaving the villa and returning to the outside world. He claimed contestants receive a brief chat with a psychologist on leaving, something he deemed “completely irrelevant”.

Shock: Montana Brown was left devastated at the news
SplashNews.com

“There is absolutely no support involved,” he said on Sky News. “The producers’ see these things going on and they need to intercept it. I was trolled mercilessly. For me it wasn’t a big deal because I was coping with it, but I never got a call from the show to ask me how I’m coping. I think the entire way it’s structured needs to change.”

Other Love Island stars including Dom Lever and Kady McDermott have also called on show bosses to intervene more with the pastoral care.

In a statement ITV said caring for contestants “is a process the show takes very seriously and is a continuous process for all those taking part in the show”.

It continued: “We ensure that all of our Contributors are able to access psychological support before, during and after appearing on the show.”

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