Layoffs At ‘Love Island’ Producer Lifted Entertainment

Love Island producer Lifted Entertainment is making layoffs.

We are told that between 15 and 20 roles at the ITV Studios-owned production outfit are at risk of redundancy and a consultation has started. The number represents around 10% of the circa-160-staff Lifted Entertainment operation.

Run by Richard Cowles, Lifted also produces ITV juggernauts like Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, The Voice and My Mum, Your Dad, along with BBC quiz University Challenge. It makes Love Island out of the UK and Cowles is an exec producer with Mike Spencer on Peacock’s U.S. version.

An ITV Studios spokesman said: “We can confirm that we are in formal consultation with colleagues and are supporting them during this time. As you can imagine, it would be inappropriate to share any further details at this stage.”

The move comes as big UK production outfits and broadcasters futureproof in the face of the economic downturn.

News of Lifted’s consultation comes a few weeks after commercial network ITV was revealed to be laying off dozens of staff as it ramps up cost-cutting measures worth £50M (£63M) per year. Several months before that, another ITV Studios label, MultiStory Media, made a small number of redundancies.