LOVE Island and reality shows have a "duty of care" to their contestants and presenters, the Transport Secretary said today.
Grant Shapps spoke out in the wake of Caroline Flack's tragic suicide yesterday, after she spent years presenting the ITV hit.
He told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday show: "There should always be a duty of care".
It comes after Caroline's manager slammed the CPS for pursuing a "show trial" and banning her and her boyfriend from making contact.
The 40-year-old TV star had been told on Friday prosecutors would be pushing ahead with a trial – despite boyfriend Lewis Burton's requests to drop the assault case.
Mr Shapps said: "Of course there is a duty of care for everybody involved in these sort of things, but I think we have to be pretty careful we don't know the circumstances as yet and there's quite a bit more to the background of this in terms of the ongoing CPS work."
Sophy Ridge said this is the third suicide with links to Love Island, after contestants Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis took their own lives.
And the Transport Secretary added: "Clearly people making these programmes do have that sort of duty of care not just to contestants but as we've seen to presenters as well.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions here, there may be, we know that there were other circumstances involved in this Caroline Flack case.
"Let's wait and see. There should always be a duty of care."
Caroline was a much-loved member of the Love Island team and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.
Following the deaths of two past contestants and a government inquiry, Love Island took extra measures to improve welfare for people involved with the show.
Caroline was forced to stand down as host for the show’s first winter series following her arrest on December 12.
She had been accused at a court hearing on December 23 of hitting her boyfriend over the head with a lamp at 5am as he slept.
Caroline was said to have been determined to prove her innocence when the case eventually went to crown court, scheduled for March 4.
But was also tormented by strict bail conditions which prevented her from contacting Lewis until after the trial.
ITV2's scheduled episode of Unseen Bits, which was due to air at 9pm tonight, was pulled.
And an ITV spokeswoman said: “Everybody at Love Island and ITV is shocked and saddened by this desperately sad news.
“Caroline was a much-loved member of the Love Island team and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.”
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
Her managers said in a statement: "We are devastated at the loss of our client and friend Caroline Flack.
"An immensely talented young woman who was at the top of her game professionally and loved by television viewers across the country.
"In recent months Caroline had been under huge pressure because of an ongoing case and potential trial which has been well reported.
"The Crown Prosecution Service pursued this when they knew not only how very vulnerable Caroline was but also that the alleged victim did not support the prosecution and had disputed the CPS version of events.
"The CPS should look at themselves today and how they pursued a show trial that was not only without merit but not in the public interest.
"And ultimately resulted in significant distress to Caroline. Our thoughts are with Caroline's family at this time."
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