Phew: Love Island Australia will still go ahead after a worker from I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here sent the Byron Bay and Tweed local government areas into a snap lockdown, almost shutting down both shows.
Earlier this week, the Byron Shire Council revoked its support for Love Island Australia (which is being filmed there) because it is made by the same company as I’m A Celeb, ITV Studios. Byron Mayor Michael Lyon was concerned about the spread of COVID-19 after a makeup artist who flew into the area for I’m A Celeb visited multiple venues in the LGA without permission, before returning a positive test.
“I am looking into our options this morning to rescind council approval for the Love Island production, from the same studios that brought I’m a Celebrity, and COVID, to the region,” Michael Lyon posted to Facebook on Thursday.
However, under the Local Government Filming Protocol introduced in NSW in 2009, councils have no say if “total filming activity is for fewer than 30 days per year”. So now, Nine and ITV have tightened the schedule so that they squeeze filming into 30 days, without requiring an extension. However, that means the Love Island premiere will be pushed back from October 4 to October 11 — according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
ITV Studios boss David Mott told the SMH they had originally applied for an exemption to film Love Island beyond those 30 days, as a a fallback if something were to go wrong.
“We didn’t need that long but in an ideal world we were hoping to get approval to allow for contingencies,” Mott said.
The Byron Shire Council are aware of this loophole of sorts, and as the saying goes the show must go on.
“They’re aware of that and they’re not going to get in the way of it,” Mott said.
“All I want to do is get on with the show now.”
Honestly thank god Love Island is going ahead. I need muscular, hot people to distract me from my lockdown depression.
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