Mike Thalassitis' friend Jonny Mitchell launches petition calling on Love Island bosses to offer better aftercare

Mitchell said more needs to be done to end the toxicity in reality TV
1/10
Emma Powell19 March 2019
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

“Utterly heartbroken” Jonny Mitchell has launched a petition calling on ITV to overhaul the aftercare Love Island contestants receive in the wake of Mike Thalassitis’ death.

Thalassitis, 26, was found hanged in a park in Edmonton on Saturday. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

Mitchell, who starred alongside Thalassitis on the 2017 series, claimed there is no support available to contestants after leaving the Love Island villa and insisted reality shows should be “be held accountable for the way they operate”.

“I’m calling on ITV Studios for a new duty of care for show contestants going on Love Island – and for other reality shows to follow too,” he wrote on the change.org petition.

Former Love Island contestants have paid tribute to Mike Thalassitis
PA

“I think it’s time to wake up and see that the way this industry operates is toxic and it costs lives.”

He accused reality shows of “not providing a clear enough picture of the risks involved” and said bosses “need to start fully explaining the negatives of entering this world.”

“They need to stop falsely portraying people through how they edit in order to make their show more entertaining, as once the show’s over, the person who they portrayed negatively has to deal with the backlash from the public,” he wrote.

“There needs to be a compulsory set-out aftercare scheme in place for people who are going on reality TV shows.”

Some 60,000 people had signed the petition at the time of writing, 15,000 short of the 75,000 target.

Mitchell previously slammed Love Island bosses on Sky News, claiming there is “absolutely no support” offered to contestants. Mitchell said he was trolled mercilessly on leaving the ITV2 show and claims he was only spoken to by a psychologist minutes after his exit, something he deemed “completely irrelevant” as he had no idea how he had been perceived by viewers.

Asked if Thalassitis’ death would have affected his decision to go on the show he replied: “Would I do it again? After Mike, no. Before Mike, maybe.”

Fans have called for the show to be cancelled in the wake of Thalasittis’ death.

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.”

Mitchell was among the first to pay tribute to Thalassitis after news of his death broke. He hailed him “an absolute hero and a legend” and said he had become his “best friend” on leaving the villa.

He finished: “One of the best people I’ve ever known taken from us far too soon, I’m heartbroken and can’t put into words how much I’m gonna miss you bro!

“My heart goes out to his family.. Rest in peace Magic Mike.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in