Caroline Flack’s mother has revealed she can no longer bear to watch Love Island anymore, admitting it’s ‘horrible’ to see her daughter’s replacement Laura Whitmore in adverts in ‘almost the same dress, in almost the same pose’.
The former host of the dating show was found dead aged 40 in her London flat on February 15 last year – a day after she heard the CPS would pursue a trial following a drunken row with then-boyfriend Lewis Burton.
And in a new interview, Christine hit out at Love Island’s treatment of her daughter amid her assault charge, accusing them of being ‘hypocritical’ for sacking her when they themselves encourage arguments among contestants.
So sad: Caroline Flack’s mother has revealed she can no longer bear to watch Love Island and see her daughter’s replacement Laura Whitmore on the show following the star’s death
The late TV presenter was facing trial accused of assaulting her former partner Lewis, 28, in December 2019.
However, Caroline strongly denied the charge and had pleaded not guilty to assault by beating at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on December 23.
And speaking to The Sun, Christine said of her daughter valued ‘loyalty and friendship’ above all else, and told that the show she hosted for four years failed to show the same to her when she was axed and replaced by pal Laura, 36.
Tough to see: Christine admitted it’s ‘horrible’ to see her daughter’s replacement Laura Whitmore in adverts in ‘almost the same dress, in almost the same pose’
While she used to avidly watch the ITV2 programme when her daughter was at the helm, Christine admitted that she ‘hasn’t watched’ it since Caroline died, suggesting it was too painful to see someone else host the show that her girl ‘loved’ so much.
She said: ‘I watched Love Island because Carrie was in it. Now, it’s horrible when the advert comes up and the girl that’s taken her place is all in almost the same dress, in almost the same pose.’
Laura took over hosting duties shortly before Caroline was due to fly out to South Africa for Love Island’s very first winter edition in January 2020.
She continued: ‘I think ITV2 could have done it a little differently. They could have done it out of respect. It’s all very well putting these films on saying, ‘Oh, we love Carrie blah blah blah. But you know, just have a little bit of respect.’
Vent: In a new interview, Christine hit out at Love Island’s treatment of her daughter amid her assault charge, accusing them of being ‘hypocritical’ for sacking her when they themselves promote arguments among contestants
Meanwhile, she hit out at the show’s ‘hypocritical’ bosses for not standing by Caroline following her row with Lewis, despite them promoting rows between the couples on the show.
She explained: ‘It’s making them fight and argue, and they set them up for that. And yet they sacked Carrie straight away [after her row with Lewis]. I haven’t watched Love Island since she died. Carrie loved that show, she loved the crew, she loved the contestants.’
MailOnline has contacted Love Island for comment.
Tragic: The former host of the dating show was found dead aged 40 in her London flat on February 15 last year – a day after she heard the CPS would pursue a trial following a drunken row with then-boyfriend Lewis Burton
After Caroline’s passing, Christine blasted a senior Met Police officer for appealing against the CPS’s decision to give her daughter a caution after her arrest for the alleged attack, despite officers finding her at the crime scene with an injury caused by self-harm.
She accused Detective Inspector Lauren Bateman of treating her more harshly due to her celebrity status.
DI Bateman previously denied treating the presenter more harshly because she was famous and insisted she ‘wouldn’t do anything differently’ if confronted with the case again today.
Sad: While she used to avidly watch the ITV2 programme when her daughter was at the helm, Christine admitted that she ‘hasn’t watched’ it since Caroline died, suggesting it was too painful to see someone else host the show that her girl ‘loved’ so much
Opinion: ‘I watched Love Island because Carrie was in it. Now, it’s horrible when the advert comes up and the girl that’s taken her place is all in almost the same dress, in almost the same pose’
Echoing the same sentiments in the interview with The Sun, Christine said the case was ‘so badly handled’ by police and claimed they locked her daughter up for 24 hours after the arrest, while aware she had previously tried to commit suicide.
She said someone else might have been able to survive the public debacle but not Caroline, because her mental health was ‘so very fragile’.
MailOnline has contacted the Met Police for comment.
Before Caroline passed, the presenter endured an onslaught of trolling on social media from trolls who branded her an ‘abuser’ and said she deserved to be sacked from Love Island.
No holding back: Christine called out the ITV dating show for their ‘hypocrisy,’ after firing Caroline over the alleged attack, despite promoting rows on the show(pictured this year’s contestants Faye Winter and Teddy Soares)
Following, the TV personality’s death prompted an outpouring of sorrow from celebrity friends, colleagues and fans, who referenced one of the former Strictly winner’s social media posts from December in which she urged people to ‘Be Kind’.
While Christine acknowledged the ‘Be Kind’ movement is great in theory, she doesn’t feel anyone has truly learned anything from it or behaved kinder since her daughter’s death.
Instead she feels many individuals have simply ‘jumped on the bandwagon’ with the social cause.
To stop Caroline from seeing the hateful comments when she was alive, Christine revealed she would have to take her phone away because the presenter was ‘addicted’ to reading the negativity.
As a result, she accumulated approximately 20 cell devices in a bid to protect her, despite Caroline immediately going out to buy herself a new one.
For help call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org
Incident: The late TV presenter was facing trial accused of assaulting her former partner Lewis, 28, in December 2019 – and had pleaded not guilty to the charge (pictured in October 2019)