Love Island Australia: Imports help reality TV cope with the new reality

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Viewers who are missing their summer Love Island fix have been sampling the Australian version - which is one of a string of reality TV imports and repeats peppering the UK's TV schedules.

The regular Love Island was cancelled because of coronavirus, so the 2018 Aussie series is now on ITV2 instead.

And with filming on most reality shows now on hold in the UK, ITV has also started showing the US edition of The Masked Singer, while the BBC has bought the rights to Drag Race Canada.

E4, which is currently repeating classic episodes of the British Big Brother, will also show Married At First Sight Australia.

As far as talent shows are concerned, lockdown left Britain's Got Talent and The Voice UK viewers hanging mid-series, while the BBC's big spring singing contest starring Little Mix was pushed back.

Producers are now trying to figure out how to salvage the usual autumn and winter ratings winners like The Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here.

Not all new reality shows have been scuppered by the lockdown, however. Channel 4 has announced a new series and a celebrity version of The Circle, in which contestants are helpfully locked away and communicate via a social media platform.

"It's basically isolation... an entertainment format that has now bled and become real life," TV critic Scott Bryan joked on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Love Island Australia launched on Monday with almost 500,000 live viewers - 15% of the total who tuned in for the launch of last summer's series.

Many were struck by the lack of diversity and levels of superficiality and bravado that put even the British version to shame, with quotes like: "It's a deal-breaker if a guy doesn't have a boat"; and "I'm so good looking, I'm so pretty".