Television presenter best known for hosting the reality show Love Island
The reality TV presenter Caroline Flack, who has taken her own life aged 40, helped the ITV2 dating programme
Love Island become a top-rating show that last year attracted audiences of more than 6 million. It had originally run as Celebrity Love Island on ITV in 2005, with Patrick Kielty as the main host welcoming famous contestants to a villa on Armstrong Island, Fiji, but rarely drew more than 2 million viewers and was axed after two series.
Then, five years ago, ITV decided to give Love Island a new lease of life on its second channel, with Flack as the sole presenter and Majorca as the host island. She described it as “a social experiment” and a dream job: “It’s just going to be a lot of fun.” In its previous incarnation, the “islanders” had had the final say on evictions. This time, the viewers were firmly in control of the final vote after the various “couplings” and “re-couplings” over the weeks, with a £50,000 jackpot for the winning couple. Viewers related to Flack’s warmth and infectious laugh, as well the support she gave to troubled contestants.