Luca Bish has been defended by an ITV Love Island boss just days before he makes his return to the All Stars villa, three years after being branded a gaslighter

Love Island All Stars contestant Luca Bish has been defended by the series executive producer after sparking an Ofcom storm during his first appearance in the villa.

Luca, 25, is returning for the ITVX spin-off after becoming one of the most talked about islanders on the dating show in 2022. Luca was coupled up with Gemma Owen, the daughter of former England striker Michael, before they split after leaving the villa.

Series 8 was marred with controversy with viewers accusing Luca of ‘gaslighting and toxic behaviour’. The fishmonger was at the centre of an Ofcom storm – with over 3000 complaints from his movie night antics alone. Charity Women’s Aid who said at the time: “A programme based around the formation of romantic relationships must have guidelines on what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable in those relationships.”

Luca accused Tasha Ghouri, a finalist in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, of using her boyfriend Andrew Le Page in order to make it to the final, before accusing his own partner Gemma of flirting with male contestants. Despite a then 19-year-old Gemma insisting she hadn’t crossed a line, Luca continued to press her leading viewers to claim he was displaying signs of misogyny.

Luca is making his return to Love Island in the coming days ( 
Image:
ITV)

He previously sparked controversy during the 2022 series ( 
Image:
@lucabish/instagram)

His place on the line-up for the second All Stars series raised eyebrows among some fans, but executive producer Mike Spence says it’s ‘dangerous’ for fans to jump to assumption and insists his team have a ‘robust’ system of checks in place to keep the islanders following their strict rules of engagement.

Mike said: “I always say, I think it’s very dangerous to label behaviours that you watch on TV. You are seeing a certain amount of time and I think it’s very dangerous. People jump to labelling things. Words like ‘toxic, dangerous, coercive control and gaslighting’, I think we should all be very careful how much we use them and the context we use them in.

“Sometimes, someone might be a little full on and then someone jumps in and says ‘That’s gaslighting, that’s coercive control’ and that’s dangerous. I know that we have an absolutely robust system in place. I have trust in all the islanders and the training they are given on this show. And we will always oversee a fair edit to everybody. I’m not worried at all.

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“I do feel strongly about that. I see things on social media and I think it’s so dangerous.” Describing how Luca felt about returning to the show, Mike said he had no reservations at all. “I think Luca is brilliant. He’s a really great guy. Luca is coming here to look for love. I’m excited to see what happens with him.

“He wasn’t worried about coming on he is genuinely excited and he’s a really sweet guy, he’s really close with his family and he’s looking for love. It didn’t work out with Gemma before but he’s ready to find the one.”

At the time of his villa controversy, Luca’s family apologised on his behalf, stating: “We as his family don’t condone his behaviour last night, but we do understand he is in an intense environment where his emotions are heightened. Last night was not reflective of the boy we all know and love at home.”

While in 2021, Jake Cornish was also called out for his treatment towards then partner Liberty Poole. The blonde Brummie bombshell left after a tearful breakdown where she accused Jake of leading her on for weeks to stay on the show. Both returned to the show for the first All Stars spin off series last January with Jake choosing to walk just days in. Despite the initial setback, Mike says he’s not concerned about the impact of early exits on the show.

“It’s an open door in the villa. Sometimes it’s not for you and that’s absolutely fine. We have to be guided by our islanders. We think everyone, even Jake, enjoyed his experience while he was here, he came back at the end. I think the same will go for this series, everyone will be excited to do it.”