Love Island returned to ITV2 on Monday night with a touching tribute to Caroline Flack.
Caroline had hosted Love Island from 2015 but was replaced by Laura Whitmore for the most recent series due to personal reasons.
Tragically, Caroline passed away aged 40 on Saturday night.
Both Saturday and Sunday’s episodes of Love Island were cancelled but the show returned at 9PM last night.
It began with a tribute to Caroline given by show narrator Iain Stirling.
He said: “We are all absolutely devastated by the tragic news that Caroline, a much loved member of our Love Island family, has passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this dreadful time.
— Love Island (@LoveIsland) February 17, 2020
“Caroline and me were together from the very start of Love Island and her passion, warmth and infectious enthusiasm were a crucial part of what made the show connect with millions of viewers.
“Like many of you, right now we’re all just trying to come to terms with what has happened.
“My only hope is that we can all try and be kinder, always show love and listen to one another.
“Caroline, I want to thank you for all the fun times we had making our favourite show. You were a true friend to me. I’m going to miss you Caz.”
Ahead of the show, Kevin Lygo, Director of Television at ITV said in a statement this evening: “Everyone at ITV is absolutely devastated and still trying to process this tragic news.
“Caroline was part of Love Island from the very beginning and her passion, dedication and boundless energy contributed to the show’s success.
“After Caroline stepped down from the show ITV made it clear that the door was left open for her to return and the Love Island production team remained in regular contact with her and continued to offer support over the last few months.
“Love Island will return tonight and will include a tribute to Caroline that the team in South Africa and Iain Stirling have put together.
“Caroline loved Love Island and was very vocal in her support of the show. Viewers could relate to her and she to them and that was a big part of the programme’s success. We will all miss her very much.”
Meanwhile, show sponsors Just Eat omitted its adverts from the programme, replaced with idents offering help and support to those in need.
ITV and Just Eat said in a joint statement: “In light of this weekend’s tragic events, Just Eat and ITV have worked with Samaritans to replace the idents for this evening’s episode of Love Island so that anyone affected by Caroline’s death can access support.”
While Love Island aired this evening, there was no episode of spin-off Love Island: Aftersun tonight.
In addition, ITV have said they will not be releasing a Love Island: The Morning After podcast tomorrow morning.
The Love Island final is due to take place live this Sunday night from the villa in South Africa.
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