Love Island host Maya Jama has revealed her favourite winter series 2023 contestant.
The 28-year-old took over the coveted presenting role after Laura Whitmore announced her shock departure from the show last August.
The TV personality has since been showered with praise, as fans are all in agreement that she’s doing an incredible job.
Speaking after the Love Island final on Monday, March 13, Maya revealed her favourite Islander was Shaq Muhammad.
“He’s just a hopeless romantic, and so in love with Tanya [Manhenga],” the reality TV host gushed. “You can really see it. I think that’s incredibly cute.”
Discussing the winning couple Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan, Maya said: “I love, love, love Kai and Sanam as a couple. They’re so sweet together, and you can tell they really love being in each other’s company.”
“When Sanam came in she felt like a perfect fit for Kai.”
“You can see just how much of a warm heart she has, I could barely look her in the eye after she accidentally said she was in love with Kai during the final – she almost set me off – but that’s when I knew there was something real. They bring out a genuine side in one another.”
Maya recently revealed whether she’ll continue to host the fan-favourite dating show, or whether she’ll walk away from the role.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, the 28-year-old said: “I’m going to be doing the summer one.”
“It starts in… summer,” she teased, careful not to reveal the start date of the summer series.
Discussing the presenting role, Maya said: “I was so nervous. Obviously it’s a very big show, everyone watches it, everyone’s got an opinion.”
Maya continued: “Quite a lot of people online were like, ‘We want Maya to host’. So it felt a bit like, I don’t want to let anyone down.”
“I don’t want it to be like, ‘You guys wanted me to do it and now I’m s**t’. So I felt that pressure, and to get the slow-motion walk right…”
Revealing the process behind the slow-motion walk, the 28-year-old said: “You do a normal strut about three or four times. You have to ‘sexy it up’ a little bit.”
“Me and my friends the night before I went had a big girls’ night and they were like ‘OK, show us how you’re going to walk.’”
“As soon as I got there and the camera crew was there, I was like, ‘I can’t do it’, but you do it four or five times and they choose the best,” Maya continued.
