ITV have said producers will have to “spice it up a bit” for Love Island to continue with future series of the hit dating show.

Liam Reardon and Millie Court be crowned winners of the 2021 series this week as 2.8 million people tuned in to watch the final.

The finale’s viewing figures were down 22% from the 2019 final.

Is Love Island on borrowed time?

Asked if the best days of the show are behind it, ITV’s director of television told the Edinburgh TV Festival: “I don’t think it has peaked, I think this is a pattern that you see when new programmes come along and they are huge phenomenons.

“On catch-up it’s certainly the best performing series ever, the overnights are still really strong, most nights it’s the most watched show at 9pm anywhere. That alone is quite a success.

“I think it’s all in the catch-up now, which is done quite quickly because there is another episode coming tomorrow.

“Who would think you could invent a programme that runs for eight weeks every single night at 9pm and kind of takes in more viewers than anything, particularly younger viewers which are the hardest to find now.

“There are many years left in it and I think the challenge thrown down to producers, and let’s give them a bit of credit, through a pandemic they managed to make a show every single night, is to make some subtle change to spice it up a bit and make it as fresh as you can.”

Love Island winners Liam and Millie on their future together

Liam Reardon says he is confident he will be able to pull a proposal “out of the bag” after he and Millie Court were crowned winners of Love Island.

The bricklayer from Wales, 22, asked the fashion buyer’s administrator from Essex, 24, to be his girlfriend in front of an audience during the live final.

The pair beat Chloe Burrows and Toby Aromolaran to win the £50,000 prize money, and Millie decided to split the cash instead of stealing the full amount for herself.

Speaking after their win, Millie addressed the next step in their relationship.

She said: “The proposal is going to have to be massive.”

Liam added: “It’s going to be huge, I’m sure I can pull it out of the bag. I’m sure I can do it.”

The couple also addressed their plans to eventually move in together in Essex.

Liam said: “I love where I’m from but I would like to venture off and move to somewhere new and Essex seems like the perfect place really.

“I know some of the boys who were in the villa we got on so well and they mentioned moving in together and they’d like to move to Essex so that’s something I would definitely be considering and that’s my plan really, moving to Essex.”