Love Island is facing growing pressure to drop their lie detector test in light of the cancellation of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
On Tuesday, it was announced broadcasting watchdog Ofcom were considering imposing a ban on the use of the tests on television, amid a parliamentary review into reality TV.
While ITV has yet to comment on whether their lie detector – which has featured in all four series of the popular ITV2 show – will return for the upcoming season, HuffPost UK spoke to broadcast historian Finola Doyle O’Neill who warned of the dangers the tests pose.
“They are very uncertain and unpredictable,” she explains. “And there’s a whole host of science that says this is an extremely dangerous tool.
“Originally, they were used as a policing tool for interrogation but it was used effectively because people were trained and forensic scientists. Television producers and presenters are not, so it is a very dangerous and serious weapon to have in their hands.”
The lie detector episodes of Love Island usually see contestants set their partners a series of questions to test the strength of their relationships.
However, Finola does not see this as a legitimate use of the tool.
“Love Island would be best off to abandon the lie detector as they are playing with people’s lives very unfairly because they are not using it for the right purpose,” she says.
Addressing the potential Ofcom ban, she continues: “If they want to assert their authority, Ofcom should insist they should not do it.
“It will be an interesting outcome for British television to see whether Ofcom can flex their muscles and do it effectively.”
Last year, Love Island viewers saw how the lie detector test sparked a huge row between contestants Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham, after it claimed he was lying when he answered ‘no’ to the question: “Could you be tempted by other girls outside the villa?”
Concerns have been raised over the use of lie detectors on TV after a Jeremy Kyle Show participant died a week after filming an appearance on the show, where he failed a test.
The tragedy eventually led to the show being cancelled after 14 years on air.
Sharon White, the head of Ofcom, said the regulator was now scrutinising the use of lie detectors, telling the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee: “In the context of guidance around harm and offence we will be looking at lie detectors and other tools used by production companies as to whether it is fair treatment of particular vulnerable individuals.
“These high-risk prize events or the use of a lie detector or a particular editorial tool may not be appropriate.”
Damian Collins, the chair of the Culture Select Committee, added that there are concerns about how reality TV presents the results of lie detector tests as “bona fide fact” despite questions over their validity.
A Love Island spokesperson did not immediately respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment.
However, the show execs have released a more detailed look at the newly-improved duty of care plan, which was revised back in March following the deaths of former contestants Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon.
This includes staying in regular contact with each Islander for 14 months after the end of the series, and ensuring Islanders attend a minimum of eight therapy sessions after leaving the villa.
Love Island returns to ITV2 on Monday 3 June.