Love Island pay tribute to former contestant Mike Thalassitis

Mike sadly died in March

Author: Alex RossPublished 4th Jun 2019

Love Island 2019 kicked off on our TV screens last night, with 12 hot singletons hoping to find love in the infamous villa. But after the 90-minute long episode, bosses paid a poignant tribute to series three star Mike Thalassitis.

Following Mike's tragic death in March, ITV bosses made a U-turn and decided to include a tribute to the reality star on last night's launch show, dedicating the episode in his memory.

Sharing his cast photo from 2017, the tribute read, 'In loving memory of Mike Thalassitis. 1993-2019'.

ITV announced yesterday, just hours before the launch show, that they would be paying tribute to Mike on the show, with an insider revealing, “Producers wanted to pay their respects to Mike and show his friends, family and fans that he was a part of the Love Island family and is missed deeply by everyone. It is a really difficult subject but they wanted to address it rather than sweep it under the carpet or pretend it hasn’t happened."

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Love Island pay tribute to former contestant Mike Thalassitis
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Mike tragically took his own life at the age of just 26 back in March. A Met Police spokesperson said at the time, "Police were called to a park near Latymer Way, N9 at 0928hrs on Saturday, 16 March to reports of a man found hanged.

"Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found a man, aged in his 20s deceased.

"At this early stage, the death is not being treated as suspicious. Police are in the process of informing the man's next of kin. A file will be prepared for the coroner."

Mike's funeral later took place in Southgate, North London, in April, with many of his former Love Island co-stars in attendance.

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