ITV2’s Love Island has been cleared over an episode in which two contestants had sex.
Seven people complained to media regulator Ofcom that the scene involving Emma-Jane Woodham and Terry Walsh was broadcast too soon after the 9pm watershed or could cause offence.
The pair were shown having sex in a dormitory style room with other contestants present, but were shot with night vision cameras and mostly covered from view.
The scene was interspersed with the shocked reaction of housemates at the time and later interviews.
During the sequence, the soundtrack featured the Toreador Song from Bizet’s Carmen.
ITV said that there was a “very well-established audience expectation of sexual activity” with a warning before the programme and during the show, which had featured more than 30 similar incidents in previous episodes.
Ofcom said that within the context of the programme and the way in which it was presented it did not breach rules on the watershed or causing offence.
A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “We investigated a small number of complaints about a scene where two housemates had sex shortly after the watershed, but didn’t find it breached broadcasting rules.
“The shots of the couple were very brief and relatively indistinct as a result of the use of a night vision camera. The tone was lightened by the focus on the other housemates’ reactions reduced the material’s potential to cause offence.”
