TVNZ confirms Heartbreak Island will return

Heartbreak Island winners 2018, Harry Jowsey and Georgia Bryers. Photo / Supplied

Heartbreak Island crowned its inaugural winners last night, with contestants Georgia Bryers and Harry Jowsey walking away with the $100,000 prize.

TVNZ also used the opportunity to announce the series will return for a second season, calling for applicants to register.

Response to the series has been muted with little social media engagement, compared to more popular local reality franchises such as The Bachelor NZ and Married at First Sight NZ.

While the series rated consistently over its six-week run, with an average audience of 80,000 viewers aged 18-49 tuning in, the figures were lower than TVNZ might have hoped for.

By comparison, season three of The Bachelor NZ saw an average audience of 117,000 viewers tune in last year, in the slightly older demographic of 25-54.

A TVNZ spokesperson said the company was happy with the result, saying the "fun and flirty original format that has brought something new to TVNZ 2's line-up".

"The programme has a young and engaged broadcast audience. It is also a strong TVNZ OnDemand performer, reaching the platform's top five most streamed shows each week for the series' duration. We're excited to be bringing Heartbreak Island back and building on the momentum for a second season."

The series made headlines when it debuted with a mother-of-two calling for TVNZ to have the reality show taken off air.

Auckland mother Jane Nixon said the show depicted contestants as "pieces of fleshy meat meant nothing more than for sex, shame and money".

Contestants also spoke out about bullying on the show, with contestant Caitlin Smith claiming the show "really scarred" her.

During an interview with ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan, she says that she was left distraught after being bullied by a fellow female contestant on the show.

"It is spilling over into my real life…. I have cried endless amounts of tears over this. It has really hurt me and it's made me doubt myself as a person and it's really scarred me. One hundred percent."

TVNZ say there are plans to change the format before it returns, based on viewer feedback.

"Listening to audience feedback enables us to bring the very best programme to air. We did this for Survivor season two and Heartbreak Island will be no different. We'll incorporate some viewer tweaks to further strengthen the format for season two."