Advertisers were banking on the combination of sun, bikinis and possible celebrity sexual encounters to boost falling ratings after the failure of Celebrity Wrestling, which aired on Saturdays at the same time as Doctor Who and was pulled after only four weeks.

In Celebrity Love Island, which cost £15 million to make, Abi Titmuss, Rebecca Loos, Lady Isabella Hervey, Calum Best and Fran Cosgrove were dumped on a Fijian island in the expectation that romance could bloom over five weeks.

But after attracting 5.3 million viewers for Monday night’s launch, the audience had fallen to 3.4 million by Wednesday.

ITV1 is devoting 11 hours a week to the show, with overnight live coverage on its ITV2 digital channel.

But Wednesday’s audience was 400,000 viewers below ITV1’s average this year for the 10pm slot.

Most troubling for the broadcaster, red-top tabloid newspapers, which were expected to rally to the programme’s cast, have condemned it as a new low in reality television.

Ladbroke’s has stopped giving odds on the winner after taking only £28 in bets. Instead the bookmaker is offering odds-on at 1/2 that Love Island will be pulled.

An ITV spokesman said: “It is premature to talk about axeing Love Island. Big Brother’s ratings also fluctuate massively. We are in this for a five-week haul.”

The audience in the target 16-to-34 age bracket was higher than average for the channel, but has dropped from a 34.9 per cent share on Monday, to 27.9 per cent on Tuesday and 23.4 per cent on Wednesday. ITV has gambled on celebrity reality shows to bring short-term commercial returns.

Celebrity Shark Bait, in which public figures are dangled next to sharks in South Africa, will follow later this year. I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! also returns in November. ITV1 has been hit by the return of Doctor Who on BBC One, recording its third-lowest daily audience share on a recent Saturday night since records began.

REALITY BITES

LOWS

Les Dennis
He hit bottom on Celebrity Big Brother and ended up talking to the chickens

Anne Diamond
She hoped Celebrity Big Brother would revive her career, but realised she would rather be at home

Edwina Currie
She tested the patience of Gordon Ramsay

HIGHS

Jordan, (Katie Price)
Her earnings trebled since roughing it in I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!

Tony Blackburn
Winning I'm A Celebrity gave him a new lease of life

Vanessa Feltz
Although she was voted off Celebrity Big Brother second, she now presents shows on Channel 5

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