diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/CHANGELOG.md b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/CHANGELOG.md
index e06f94da65..137cd5dd98 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 <!-- prettier-ignore -->
 | Version       | Description                                                                                                                  |
 | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| 2.8.1 | [PR#3600](https://github.com/bbc/psammead/pull/3600) Make z-index styling be conditional based on whether loadingImage is used |
 | 2.8.0 | [PR#3600](https://github.com/bbc/psammead/pull/3600) Implementing dark mode compatible placeholder with media player |
 | 2.7.16 | [PR#3626](https://github.com/bbc/psammead/pull/3626) Talos - Bump Dependencies - @bbc/psammead-play-button |
 | 2.7.15 | [PR#3613](https://github.com/bbc/psammead/pull/3613) Talos - Bump Dependencies - @bbc/psammead-assets |
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package-lock.json b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package-lock.json
index 8363c5928c..ca2acecc20 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package-lock.json
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package-lock.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@bbc/psammead-media-player",
-  "version": "2.8.0",
+  "version": "2.8.1",
   "lockfileVersion": 1,
   "requires": true,
   "dependencies": {
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package.json b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package.json
index a42891c4d9..a33e4eca25 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package.json
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@bbc/psammead-media-player",
-  "version": "2.8.0",
+  "version": "2.8.1",
   "description": "Provides a media player with optional placeholder",
   "main": "dist/index.js",
   "module": "esm/index.js",
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
index c2303e8b57..c7cc87d329 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 exports[`Media Player: Canonical should render an iframe 1`] = `
 .c0 {
-  z-index: 1;
   border: 0;
   left: 0;
   overflow: hidden;
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/index.jsx b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/index.jsx
index 7aa39581e2..9b90784a2f 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/index.jsx
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/Canonical/index.jsx
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ const Canonical = ({
   `;
 
   const StyledIframe = styled.iframe`
-    z-index: 1;
+    ${showLoadingImage ? `z-index: 1` : ''};
     border: 0;
     left: 0;
     overflow: hidden;
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
index 2c2532c7ce..301d4f9400 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/__snapshots__/index.test.jsx.snap
@@ -733,7 +733,6 @@ exports[`Media Player: Canonical Entry renders an iframe when showPlaceholder is
 }
 
 .c1 {
-  z-index: 1;
   border: 0;
   left: 0;
   overflow: hidden;
@@ -772,7 +771,6 @@ exports[`Media Player: Canonical Entry renders the audio skin 1`] = `
 }
 
 .c1 {
-  z-index: 1;
   border: 0;
   left: 0;
   overflow: hidden;
diff --git a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/index.stories.jsx b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/index.stories.jsx
index da77a87281..90191d4896 100644
--- a/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/index.stories.jsx
+++ b/packages/components/psammead-media-player/src/index.stories.jsx
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ storiesOf('Components|Media Player', module)
           type: 'video',
           ...withDuration,
         }}
-        showLoadingImage
+        showLoadingImage={boolean('Show loading image', true)}
         darkMode={boolean('Dark mode', false)}
         title="Media player"
         noJsMessage="Dem no support media player for your device"