‘Love Island UK’ Names Maya Jama as Next Host, Replacing Laura Whitmore

There’s now a fresh face on Love Island UK. The hit dating show revealed that Maya Jama will take over for Laura Whitmore as host and will begin her new gig in Season 9, which premieres in 2023, according to The BBC.

Jama — who is the third Love Island host since the show’s 2015 premiere — confirmed the news on Instagram today, where she and the Love Island account shared a post with the caption, “Okay, the rumours are true 😉 Say hey to your brand-new #LoveIsland host @mayajama! 💘”

ITV Director of Reality Programing Paul Mortimer also released a statement announcing Jama’s new role, sharing, “Finding a new host to follow the wonderful Laura Whitmore was never going to be easy. In Maya Jama though, we have another high profile fan of the show who’ll be a great addition to the Love Island family,” per BBC.

He continued, “Cool, charming and charismatic, I speak for us all when I say Maya will also bring a unique presenting style to the show, as did Laura and, of course, the very much missed Caroline Flack. We’re very pleased to have her on board.”

Jama’s appointment comes about a month after Whitmore said she was leaving Love Island, citing “difficult” elements that factored into her exit from the show. She shared at the time, “There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects.”

Whitmore hosted Love Island for three seasons, taking over the job from the late Caroline Flack, the show’s first host. Flack, who left Love Island in 2019, died by suicide in January 2020.

Jama is joining Love island after she led shows like the UK version of The Circle,  plus the BBC series Glow Up and ITV’s Walk the Line, according to Deadline.

Tune into Jama’s Love Island hosting debut when it airs next year in the US on Hulu.