A love affair with royalties from reality...

ITV may be battling to move on from the Phillip Schofield scandal but it does have something to cheer about the cash "bombshell" of Love Island.

- David Stephenson

The hit reality show, with its relentless supply of attractive contestants, is now one of the biggest digital programmes on TV, racking up 180 million streams this year.

And its ITV2 launch last Monday beat blockbusters on all channels except BBC One's Steeltown Murders.

The massive streaming figure is expected to result in a big pay day for the commercial broadcaster when it puts out its next revenue figures, with Love Island becoming a huge cash cow.

It used to be that ITV made much of its money from such soaps as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, along with high-profile dramas including Downton Abbey.

But the landscape has changed reality TV is now in the ascendancy.

Not only are there now two Love Islands a year, but this autumn older, single contestants will be featured in a similar format called My Mum, Your Dad, presented by the ever-popular Davina McCall.