James Barkerthe Love Island USA producer who worked on the last season of the Peacock dating show, has died. He was 40 years old.
ITV America and Peacock have revealed that the executive producer died in Fiji last week following an unexpected medical emergency.
Barker began working on Love Island USA as a story producer in 2020 and worked his way up to EP, a position he had been preparing for over the previous three seasons. His contributions to the show included production and post-production, as well as supervising the soundtrack.
“James’ unimaginable loss has been deeply felt not only throughout the production of Love Island in the US, but across ITV and Peacock,” ITV America and Peacock said in a joint statement.
“He was a valued and highly valued part of our shared family, and his generosity, talent and dedication left a lasting impression on all of us, as well as everyone who had the opportunity to know and work with him. We send our sincere condolences to James’ partner, family, friends and colleagues.
Love Island USA will pay tribute to the producer on Tuesday night’s show.
Barker began his television career in 2011 as a producer for Leftfield Pictures, where he worked on series such as Counting Cars, Forged in Fire and Pawn Stars. He produced Queer Eye as well as multiple seasons of Love Island USA and Love Island Games for ITV America. Barker has produced shows for Scout Productions, Sharp Entertainment and Kinetic Content.
