The hit dating show I Kissed a Girl (IKAG) will be a “reference point” for future representation of LGBTQ+ people on reality TV, a BBC controller has said. The Love Island-style show, which featured only women and was presented by Dannii Minogue, concluded its first season last weekend.
It was a spin-off of last year’s I Kissed a Boy (IKAB), the UK’s first gay dating show, which last month the BBC announced has been commissioned for a second series.
Fiona Campbell, controller of BBC iPlayer, youth audience and BBC Three, said IKAG had seen the highest proportion of viewers under the age of 35 in the past week of any show on the BBC’s streaming platform.
“Clips got 15m views across all BBC social media accounts, which is up there with existing big shows such as The Young Offenders,” said Campbell.
“I think it probably will change conversation about reality shows going forward … it will always become a reference point in producers’ and broadcasters’ origination conversations.”
Last month, US TV network Hulu acquired both seasons of IKAB and IKAG. “I think that just shows how far that editorial conversation has gone – right to America. Because nobody had really done [LGBTQ+ reality TV] before,” said Campbell.
The popularity of the series showed the demand for LGBTQ+ representation in the genre, she added.
The show sees 10 single women enter the Masseria, a villa in Italy, in the hope of finding love, and begin by sharing a kiss. Over nine episodes and a reunion, some contestants are eliminated and some new ones arrive.
Contestants said they were proud to be part of the show. Thea Hallow, who entered IKAG on episode five, said: “I’ve never seen anyone like me represented before. We weren’t [presented as] stereotypes … I can’t think of anyone who is dark-skinned, Black, femme and queer who’s been on TV or anywhere. I hope that we can act as representation and that people can be more bold about who they are in any field.”
Hallow said she had not expected such a positive response. “The impact has been massive and I’ve received so many beautiful messages from fans of IKAG. I hope the entertainment industry also sees there’s a desire for this type of diverse representation.”
Amy Spalding, another contestant, said: “I’ll be cycling on a Lime bike and people will flag me down – it’s crazy. I’ve had people message me saying they felt comfortable enough to come out to their parents. People have also said: ‘I’ve always been told that I’m too much, but watching you on the show has made me realise that I should love myself and that someone will love me for me’ … it makes me cry almost daily.”
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Lindsay McGlone, a queer digital content creator and burlesque event producer, said the show had been groundbreaking. “You don’t see queer representations that aren’t sensationalised or made into a tabloid-feel caricature. With the queer community, there’s a rawness of emotions and a big emphasis on connection and comradeship. You see that in the show, and you almost feel that you are in the show with them. They’re all sharing experiences that feel so true and real to a lot of us.”
Rebecca Hall, 24, is a fan of the series. She said: “It was juicy, it was spicy, and who doesn’t love gay gossip? But also there were so many important conversations between the contestants. For example, when Georgia [Robert] spoke about why some people find it important to label themselves lesbian instead of queer. It was good to see this on a reality TV show.”
Dan Gray, one of the executive producers of the series, said there were LGBTQ+ women in senior roles throughout production, including casting the contestants. The producers also took input from the contestants themselves, he said.
“The process taught me a lot about the culture of queer women. During casting, the girls who were auditioning and interviewing kept talking about their dating ‘red flags’, unprompted. We incorporated the concept of red flags into a ‘challenge’ on the show. We wanted things like that reflected.”
McGlone said it was important to show LGBTQ+ culture to a new audience. “Heterosexual people would really benefit from seeing how connected and community focused we are. It’s not always sexualised, and it is real and deep. It was such a joy to watch.”