Re-filming and awkward silences: The behind the scenes secrets of Love Island challenges

When they film strip teases and dances, there’s not actually any music playing 😬

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One of the highlights of Love Island is when the show gets the Islanders together to leave the villa and do one of the famous challenges. Watching the Islanders parade around in fancy dress, complete dumb obstacle courses and try to look sexy as they have drinks thrown over them and wade through slime truly is great TV.

Most of the time, an Islander is named champion for something like being sexiest, and they all head back to the villa looking like children returning from play time at school and having had the best time of their lives. But in reality, it sounds as though filming challenges on Love Island is actually quite gruelling. From re-filing scenes over and over, to the strict rules they have to follow – here are all the best behind the scenes secrets of what it’s really like filming the challenges on Love Island.

Behind the scenes and production secrets of what it is really like filming the Love Island challenges

via ITV

Yep, the Love Island challenges are filmed lots of times

It might look all fun and games and completely natural, but 2021 winner Liam Reardon said that when you see the Islanders whooping and running down to the challenge area, that’s actually filmed “like four times”. “By the fourth time, we’re so bored of it then,” he said.

There’s not actually any music playing

Despite us seeing the fun challenges with great music and vibes, apparently they’re actually filmed in silence. The music we see on the show, as providing most of the atmosphere, is added post-production. Liam Reardon, said in an interview he thinks the challenges are the part of the Love Island experience new Islanders will find the most difficult.

“When you come out and you start busting your moves and dancing, there’s not actually any music – there’s no music playing,” he said. “On the actual episode they put music on it, but when you come out dancing there’s no music playing. You’ve basically just got to dance to people ‘ay ay ay’ chanting you on and it’s the most awkward thing ever. You’re dancing for like two minutes and nobody is saying anything.”

Behind the scenes and production secrets of what it is really like filming the Love Island challenges

via ITV

Liam later said he thinks his first challenge was a cops and robbers themed one, and he had to strip down and dance, to no music. Winter Islander, Shaughna Phillips, added: “There’s no music playing for the slow-mos. All you can hear is our feet hitting the floor.” Awkward.

To the Islanders, the challenges are actually really… boring

The challenges look like some of the most fun the Islanders get to have in the villa. But, 2018’s Zara McDermott has said they’re really boring, and a lot of that is down to how tired the Islanders are in the heat. Which does sound like a bit of a vibe kill.

“Most of the time, the challenges are really boring,” she said. “You have to run out on the stage and bring loads of energy, but in reality it’s like 4pm, you’re really hot and sometimes it’s the last thing you want to be doing. It’s tiring. There was like a full squad of cameramen and producers, and it was like a reminder that you were on a TV programme.”

via ITV

Love Island producers can be quite strict with getting ready for the challenges quickly

According to reports, when Islanders are told they are doing a challenge, the producers expect them to get ready to leave the villa sharpish. Remember in 2019 when Sherif was kicked out the villa? Rumours began circulating he’d been up to no good in the shower, and this was because it had been reported that before challenges, he would spend ages in the shower. A source said he actually just “couldn’t be bothered” to go and do the challenges.

via ITV

When they’re not filming challenges, the cast members are allowed to spend more time in the day sleeping

Previous Islander, Georgia Harrison, revealed in an interview that if the cast members aren’t filming challenges on a given day, the producers allow them to sleep a bit more. Previously, it’s been said that producers are quite strict with allowing Islanders to nap during the day, so that enough content can be filmed for the show. “A lot of people would nap in the daytime,’ Georgia revealed. “Sometimes they’d just sleep.”

Some of the Love Island challenges have been called out for being staged

One of the most famous Love Island challenges is the heart race challenge, where Islanders dress up and compete to raise the heart rates of their fellow Islanders the most. Winter Islander, Shaughna Phillips, has said she believes the results of this are fixed.

“I think it was set up. In the competition it said mine went up for Callum, and obviously it would’ve been a greater storyline that mine went for Callum and Callum’s didn’t go [up] for me, but I don’t think mine went for him. I’m sure mine went for someone else,” Shaughna said.

For all the latest Love Island news and gossip and for the best memes and quizzes, like The Holy Church of Love Island on Facebook. 

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