Love Island – LIVE: Will Lucie stay in the villa without Joe?

It’s all fun, games and sarcastic voiceovers on Love Island until suddenly it isn’t. The series has been plunged into yet another controversy, over claims recently ejected sandwich vendor Joe Garratt had acted “possessively” towards onscreen partner Lucie Donlan.

Such was the backlash ahead of Joe’s elimination this week that Woman’s Aid UK issued a statement that said “controlling behaviour is never acceptable”. Garratt has since been transferred to a “safe house” and informed of the furore. His family has meanwhile weighed in, claiming he was “unfairly edited”. Add to that an ongoing row about “unconscious racism” – a charge levelled by the already expelled Sherif Lanre – and it’s hard to continue pretending Love Island is all just a bit of a lark.

Still, the show continues so the big imponderable now is how the remaining islanders, unaware of the external furore, will fare without Joe. Lucie was devastated to watch him leave. “You could clearly see me and Joe had feelings for each other,” she said through her tears after he’d packed his bags and walked out the gate. Whether tonight’s episode continues the melodrama or finds a way to restore some of that frolicsome early innocence is one of the questions sure to have fans glued to their screens.

Follow along with live updates of tonight’s happening as they unfold

Love Island continues nightly – bar Saturdays – at 9pm on ITV2.