Laura Whitmore: I wasn't allowed to ask 'Love Island' contestants if they were okay

Laura Whitmore has claimed she was not allowed to ask Love Island contestants if they were okay.

The 37-year-old TV presenter has just stepped down after two-and-a-half-years as host of the ITV dating show which has surrounded by controversy concerning the mental health and treatment of contestants.

Whitmore – who was not allowed to interact with the contestants until the live final – told The Sunday Times: "When they were in the villa, sometimes I wanted to ask if they were okay and couldn’t. But I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”

Read more: Love Island accused of misogyny for treatment of female contestants

The Irish presenter, who began her career as a showbiz news reporter for MTV after winning a competition, admitted she had privately questioned some of the treatment of the contestants on the show, but as host was unable to speak out.

She said: “It is hard. Your face is the front of the show but I am one tiny person and have no producing role so I couldn’t say if I didn’t think something was okay.

"If your child is watching, maybe you should watch it with them and have a conversation. A friend watched with her daughter and told her that it is not okay to say certain things.

"I question things a lot, even if I don’t do it publicly – people would rather I didn’t. It’s difficult doing that when you work on the show. I can do better things from not being on it.”

Whitmore also told the newspaper: "I hate having anything I’m not allowed to say."

The TV presenter – who competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 – took over as Love Island host in January 2020 after the late Caroline Flack stepped down from presenting the show due to public scrutiny over being charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.

Flack went on to take her own life aged 40 in February 2020 ahead of her trial.

Whitmore has just announced she is quitting Love Island and is due to make her West End debut in play 2.22 - A Ghost Story.

Read more: Laura Whitmore hits out at 'Love Island' fans who criticise her

She will be starring opposite Busted's Matt Willis.

Whitmore welcomed a baby girl in April 2021 with her husband Iain Stirling, who narrated Love Island.

Watch: Laura Whitmore quit Love Island at the end of the 2022 series