From Naked Attraction to Love Island: a global survey of reality TV nudity    

But Love Island is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to nudity on TV. Dating Naked (VH1) and Undressed (TLC), for example, have stretched the boundaries of what might be considered normal in the courting process. Prudes need not apply. 

Recently, the nation's palms were sent a-clammy by Channel 4's Naked Attraction. Described as the "dating series that starts where some good dates might end", contestants get to choose their date based on how they look naked – "Ooh, they're very nice, just the right size"; "Eurgh, his toes are disgusting but, my God, his..."

The face is nothing more than an afterthought, really, the last thing revealed to the contestants before they make their final choice. And then, after all that, the couple go and have a drink together in a bar. How incredibly dull.

In America, meanwhile, the wild success of Naked and Afraid, which premiered on the Discovery Channel in 2014, led to a rapid rise in nudity on television. In the year following the launch of Naked and Afraid, one television executive told The Wrap that he received "a dozen naked dating pitches" every week.

Susan Levison, who first commissioned Dating Naked on VH1, added: "I've definitely seen a trend of naked-themed shows. That's why we were so keen on piloting ours quickly and getting it onto the air. We felt that we're really on to something here, and you obviously always want to be the first one in."

Perhaps the reason Naked Attraction shocked viewers was that the nudity was so explicit. There was no pixelation, which sets the show apart from other naked reality shows, such as Naked and Afraid and Dating Naked.

Erin Gavin, whose job as "blur editor" for Discovery Channel is to maintain the modesty of the contestants on Naked and Afraid, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "Our job is to make it seamless for viewers so they're less aware of the blurs. It can be extremely tedious work, so we've seen people come and go from here. They just don't have it in them."  

Gavin explains that fake breasts are easier to pixelate because "they don't move around as much", while some of the male contestants on the show ask for a "bigger blur", something Gavin is reluctant to accommodate.

Dig a little deeper, and it turns out that there is much more to nudity on television than first meets the eye.  

Here are some of the more daring reality shows, past and present, from across the planet.   

Dating Naked

Launched on VH1 in 2014, Dating Naked, which is now in its third season, is not sophisticated: contestants get dropped on a beautiful island, get naked, go on dates (croquet, archery, that sort of thing) and then make out.

It's much like ITV2's Love Island but, unlike that show, nakedness here is mandatory – though breast, buttocks, penises and vaginas are blurred out.

The show attracts people that say things like: "Right away when I wake up in the morning, I'm like, 'Okay, what outfit am I going to take off today?'" Good catches, basically.

In an interview with The Wrap, VH1's Susan Levison said: "[The nudity] was really a storytelling device that was about something – the search for true love and what happens when you throw away your inhibitions."

Undressed

Launched this year on TLC, Undressed requires contestants to spend half an hour in bed together in their underwear, answering questions about each other. After 30 minutes, the contestants can then decide if they want to continue the date.

Described as a brave and beautiful" dating concept, the show has already been a big hit in Italy.

One producer told the Daily Mail: "Behind the provocative headlines, at its heart are funny, adorable and sometimes awkward connections. TLC's mission is to give the nation a boost – this show promises to do just that."

Adam Zoekt Eva

The premise of this Dutch dating show, which first aired in 2014, is similar to Dating Naked: desert island + naked people.

The twist in Adam Zoekt Eve (which translates to Adam Looking for Eve) is that a third person arrives halfway through each episode to try and tempt one of the contestants away from their date.

Oh, and unlike Dating Naked, there is no pixelation here, not even a discreetly-placed fig leaf.

The show was such a success in Holland, it has been recreated in seven other countries, including Germany and Greece. There was talk in 2014 of a British series but, alas, nothing has yet materialised.     

Naked and Afraid

Now in its fifth season, Naked and Afraid has been a surprise hit for the Discovery Channel since premiering in 2013.

The premise is simple: one naked male and one naked female must survive in the wild for 21 days. Locations have included Borneo, the Amazon rain forest and the Himalayan foothills. 

Though it is not strictly a dating show, unsurprisingly there have been rumoured romances. The producers insist that this is first and foremost a survival programme and have always denied that the couples hook up. One user on Reddit wrote: "[The couples] do not have intercourse, they signed a contract with a clause that forbids it. There is a camera rolling on them the entire night and a crew that follows the entire day. If they copulate they will not be paid."

Fair enough; though the question remains: what else are these people going to do while stuck together, naked, in the middle of nowhere for three weeks?

We should ask James Franco and Seth Rogen, who took part in a celebrity version of the show in 2014...

Buying Naked

Again, this TLC programme is not necessarily a dating show but the premise is so bizarre, it warrants inclusion. 

If you're a nudist and you need a house, estate agent Jackie Youngblood will find a variety of options for you in clothing-optional communities. 

It's sort of like Location, Location, Location but without clothes. Don't even think about imagining what that would be like.

Naked Jungle

This one-off game show, broadcast on Channel 5 in 2000, was hosted by a naked Keith Chegwin (except, of course, for a pith helmet). 

The contestants, who were all naturists, had to take on an assault course, based on the one used in the children's show Jungle Run. En route, contestants had to collect fig leaves, "the Biblical cover for genitalia", Wikipedia kindly reminds us. 

In 2006, Radio Times readers voted Naked Jungle the worst television programme ever, while Chegwin later said: "It's the worst career move I made in my entire life – if I could turn the clock back, I would."  

Bailando por un Sueño 

The Argentinian version of Dancing with the Stars can get a little racier than its British counterpart.

In 2010, this happened. And then a year later, dancer Cinthia Fernandez ended up completely naked on the show during a bizarre routine that might have been inspired by Ancient Rome or, more likely, a Nuts photoshoot.