15 June 2026 , 21:08
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A member of the production crew for Peacock’s Love Island USA has died while filming for the reality dating show in Fiji.
NBCUniversal, which owns Peacock: ‘ITV America and Peacock will honour in Tuesday’s episode of Love Island USA series Executive Producer James Barker, who passed away last week in Fiji after suffering an unexpected medical emergency.’
In a joint statement, ITV America and Peacock said: ‘James’ unimaginable loss has been deeply felt across not just the entire Love Island USA production, but throughout all of ITV and Peacock.’
They continued: ‘He was a beloved and greatly valued member of our collective family whose kindness, talent and dedication left an indelible mark on all of us and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with him.
‘We extend our heartfelt condolences to James’ partner, family, friends and colleagues.’
Barker started his TV career in 2011 and produced Emmy-award winning Queer Eye at ITV America, before rising to co-executive producer and executive producer on Love Island USA and Love Island Games, among others.
Barker’s pinned Instagram post, from 2025, was a screenshot of an article celebrating the success of the show.
His bio on the app also described him as a ‘DJ/Songwriter’ and included a link to an event in New York from earlier this year.
NBCUniversal said that he spent 20 years DJ’ing across the country, and ‘after meeting his partner Adam at a show, their shared love of music was at the centre of the life they built together — both at home and experiencing music all over the world’.
Recent posts showed Barker’s passion for the show. Earlier this month he wrote: ‘Our islanders feel like the best part of us, and stories feel perfect and powerful… because here… they are. ????????
‘Hope you’re all enjoying the new season brought to you by a huge squad of brilliant people, including the three models standing beside me.’
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Barker talked about some of the behind-the-scenes processes involved with making the show.
Discussing choosing music for each episode, he said: ‘As someone who’s queer, it was always very important for me to have music that spoke more to that side of things.
‘It is a very heteronormative show, and I love it; it’s awesome. But I think when we can get queer artists in there that appeal to maybe a different crowd than what the audience is used to listening to, that’s awesome. It is not a conscious goal, but something very important to me.’
Deputy Editor