diff --git a/nativescript-core/ui/list-view/list-view.ios.ts b/nativescript-core/ui/list-view/list-view.ios.ts
index de406e7aa..923f6a1c6 100644
--- a/nativescript-core/ui/list-view/list-view.ios.ts
+++ b/nativescript-core/ui/list-view/list-view.ios.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ class ListViewCell extends UITableViewCell {
     public static initWithEmptyBackground(): ListViewCell {
         const cell = <ListViewCell>ListViewCell.new();
         // Clear background by default - this will make cells transparent
-        cell.backgroundColor = null;
+        cell.backgroundColor = UIColor.clearColor;
 
         return cell;
     }
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ class ListViewCell extends UITableViewCell {
     initWithStyleReuseIdentifier(style: UITableViewCellStyle, reuseIdentifier: string): this {
         const cell = <this>super.initWithStyleReuseIdentifier(style, reuseIdentifier);
         // Clear background by default - this will make cells transparent
-        cell.backgroundColor = null;
+        cell.backgroundColor = UIColor.clearColor;
 
         return cell;
     }