Maya Jama has reportedly been “confirmed” as the new host of Love Island.
Laura Whitmore shocked fans in August when she announced she would not be returning to host the next series of the hit dating show.
At the time, she told her Instagram followers that she found “certain elements of the show” to be “very difficult”.
Maya has been hotly tipped to take over the presenting gig.
According to The Sun, the 28-year-old is said to be in the final stages of organising her contract but has accepted the role on Love Island – which will kick off for the winter series in South Africa next year.
“Maya was ITV’s dream option. She is fun, beautiful and a brilliant presenter,” an ITV source said.
An ITV spokesperson said: “We will announce [the host] in due course.”
In a recent interview with ES magazine, Laura clarified why she decided to quit Love Island.
She admitted: “Love Island is a show that I love to watch, and I always want to work on shows that I enjoy. But there’s nothing more that I can do with it. There are parameters.”
“When you work on the show, you can’t really talk about certain things. But I’m really proud of what I did, and proud to leave on what I think has been a brilliant series, with great winners.”
Laura took over as the host of Love Island for the 2020 winter series, following the late Caroline Flack’s decision to step down.
Since revealing that she would not be returning to the dating show, Laura announced she would be making her West End debut in 2.22: A Ghost Story.
