Joey Essex bans Love Islanders from mentioning TOWIE

Joey Essex has reportedly put a ban on Love Island contestants referencing The Only Way is Essex.

According to recently eliminated islander Patsy Field, the 33 year old reality TV stalwart - who made history by being the first celebrity to participate in the civilian version of the ITV2 dating contest this season - grew tired of references to TOWIE within the villa.

The 29 year old office administrator divulged: "Everyone was quoting TOWIE. All of the girls were quoting TOWIE. Joey put us on a TOWIE quote ban at one point. [He] said, 'We're going to need to drop it now.'".

In a bid to justify the habit, Patsy explained they weren't ridiculing Joey- previously coupled with Samantha Kenny, then Grace Jackson- but instead honouring Gemma Collins, 43, who has established herself as a reality TV personality.

In an interview with Closer, she further added: "But we couldn't help it, and we said, 'We're not actually quoting TOWIE, we're just quoting The GC'. She is a living legend, so can you blame us really? ", reports the Mirror.

Joey, who has made appearances on multiple reality TV displays such as Dancing on Ice, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

, Celebs Go Dating, and numerous others, created headlines when he entered the Love Island villa as a surprising newcomer on opening night. However, no special treatment awaits him on the Maya Jama-led show.

A source disclosed to MailOnline: "Joey is being treated like any other Love Island contestant, he's playing by the same rules and won't be given any preferential treatment. He hasn't been paid an appearance fee or any money at all for signing up for the show, not a penny. On Love Island it is all about the exposure and for Joey, it means more than that, too. He's looking for someone to settle down with."

The recent episodes of Love Island have sparked controversy among fans, with some accusing the show of being a "fix". The tension escalated after Tuesday's episode on ITV2 saw an unexpected exit of Samantha Kenny, who had been paired with TOWIE star Joey since his bombshell entrance into the villa.

Their budding relationship was abruptly halted when Joey's ex-girlfriend Grace Jackson arrived, leading him to realise he still had feelings for the model he dated for six weeks the previous year.

Samantha was left out in the cold as Joey chose to rekindle his romance with Grace, resulting in Samantha's departure from the villa due to the lack of interest from the other male contestants.

Following the surprising turn of events, numerous viewers took to social media platforms, particularly Twitter, to express their dismay at Samantha's sudden elimination from Love Island, suggesting she was merely collateral damage in the producers' alleged plan to promote Joey and Grace's storyline.

"As they intend for Joey and Grace to become fan favourites (fixed) they had to get rid of Samantha because she wasn't making them look good", one viewer expressed.

Another swiftly concurred, stating: "I hope nobody is buying this touching Joey and Grace reunion. It's a fix and they aren't even bothering to pretend #loveIsland."

A third echoed similar sentiments: "Joey and Grace is giving this is preplanned, fixed, behind the scenes, strings being pulled."