Love Island stars help visually impaired fans by recording self-descriptions
Stars of the new series of Love Island have enabled blind and partially sighted audiences to get to know them by recording self-descriptions for the first time.
Self-description allows visually impaired people to learn characteristics including skin colour and hair length.
The ITV2 dating show will also be providing an audio tour of the Love Island villa, helping provide a guide to the programme's key locations.
The Love Island YouTube page has the self-descriptions available, while every episode will be subtitled once the series kicks off on Monday.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People welcomed the move to be more inclusive.
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Molly Marsh, whose mum Janet was in Coronation Street, is among those entering the villa (ITV)Sonali Rai, RNIB's broadcast and audio description manager, said in quotes reported by the Daily Mail: “By embracing self-descriptions on the next series of Love Island, ITV is demonstrating a great understanding of the importance of providing equal access to content.
“RNIB research shows that a significant portion of TV programmes lack traditional audio description (AD), often due to challenges such as limited pauses in which to add AD, so we welcome this creative exploration in enhancing accessibility for blind and partially sighted viewers.
“This proactive initiative sets a remarkable example for the industry, highlighting the power of alternative solutions in creating an inclusive viewing experience for all.”
ITV's director of accessibility David Padmore added: “We're always looking for ways to make our shows more accessible to our audiences.
Semi-professional footballer Tyrique Hyde will be looking for love (ITV)“We hope that having these Islander self-descriptions and Villa tours available alongside the show will really help bring this summer's Love Island to life for our audience.”
The 10th season of the ITV2 hit show launches on Monday, with fans invited to choose which islanders should be coupled up at the start.
Voting opens on the Love Island app at 8am on Thursday and closes at 9pm on Friday.
Despite the most recent season finishing just two months ago, a whole host of new faces are currently in isolation ahead of their debut next week.
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