By the fifth series of Love Island, contestants came to the villa seemingly ready-made for influencing careers. Anna Vakili already had over 40,000 followers on Instagram when the season began; Molly Mae Hague over 150,000. Trajectories of past contestants have created a groove: it is now no secret that a spot in the villa is more a promise of a fast fashion sponsorship deal than it is true love.
On MasterChef, now in its 16th UK season and three decades on from debut in 1990, entry standards have been similarly inflated. Amateur cooks present restaurant-quality food from the start, with no official training. But MasterChef never yields brand-partnered mega-Instagrammers or overnight celebrity. The most notable achievement is perhaps that of 2005 winner, Thomasina Miers, who went on to launch the restaurant chain Wahaca; other past winners run supper clubs and restaurants and write recipe books.
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