Love Island series 10 participants will record self-descriptions to offer blind and partially sighted audiences the opportunity to get to know this year’s cast.
The show will also be audio describing a tour of the Love Island Villa in order to give audiences an understanding of the visual geography of the show’s key locations.
The self-descriptions will be available on the Love Island YouTube page. ITV unveiled a similar initiative using Helena Bonham Carter for drama Nolly earlier in the year (Meet Nolly – Noele Gordon Character Description).
As part of a variety of advancements to improve accessibility on the show, ITV have also worked closely with Monterosa on several design improvements across the popular Love Island app.
All of the forthcoming episodes of the next series, which launches this summer on ITVX and ITV2, will be subtitled. Specialist teams across the broadcaster work closely with Lifted Entertainment (part of ITV Studios), who produce the show, to secure access to episodes as early as possible to prepare subtitles in advance of transmission.
ITV’s Director of Accessibility David Padmore said:
“We’re always looking for ways to make our shows more accessible to our audiences. We hope that having these Islander self-descriptions and Villa tours available alongside the show will really help bring this summer’s Love Island to life for our audience.”
Sonali Rai, RNIB’s Broadcast and Audio Description Manager, said:
“By embracing self-descriptions on the next series of Love Island, ITV is demonstrating a great understanding of the importance of providing equal access to content. RNIB research shows that a significant portion of TV programmes lack traditional audio description (AD), often due to challenges such as limited pauses in which to add AD, so we welcome this creative exploration in enhancing accessibility for blind and partially sighted viewers. This proactive initiative sets a remarkable example for the industry, highlighting the power of alternative solutions in creating an inclusive viewing experience for all.”