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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Sarah Barrett

Love Island 2023 Winter edition: Everything we know about the series so far

The arrival of the new year also means one thing, the long-awaited return of everyone's favourite dating show Love Island.

The most recent series was won by fan-favourites Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti, who have taken showbiz by storm.

The loved-up pair have starred in their own travel show and Ekin-Su will also take part in Dancing on Ice in 2023.

Read More: 'One of the best' - Tributes paid to dad of four killed in horror Tyrone crash

But what about the upcoming winter edition of Love Island?

The most recent series marked the end of host Laura Whitmore’s time on the show.

The Dublin native took over as presenter following the tragic death of Caroline Flack in 2020.

Speaking about her departure from Love Island presenting duties, Laura said: “There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects.

“I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline.”

Where was the new series filmed?

The new Winter series is being filmed in South Africa.

The 2023 contestants will be staying in a secluded luxury mansion located in a 'protected' area in the Franschhoek wine valley.

For 2022, the summer series moved to a brand new villa in Mallorca's Sant Llorenc des Cardassar, complete with two fireplaces, a bigger bedroom area, lounge, and a hideaway.

A source told the Sun: "This year’s contestants will be flown out to South Africa earlier in January and will start filming for the first episode the day before,"

The source added: “The grand finale will take place eight weeks later on March 13."

They added: "It is a really exciting time for everyone who works on the show and they cannot wait to get started."

Winter Love Island 2023 cast

The line-up hasn't been announced just yet, but with the show expected to air in mid-January, it's likely we could be finding out very soon.

Winter Love Island 2023 trailer

ITV launched a couple of teaser trailers for the new run on St. Stephen’s day 2022 – including one which teased new host Maya Jama alongside the caption "New year, new series, new host. Let's do this, @MayaJama."

The other featured a spinning pink bronco and was captioned: "Are you ready to grab love by the horns? You know what's coming when you hear this noise."

Who is hosting Love Island’s 2023 winter series?

In October 2022, ITV confirmed that Maya Jama would be taking over as host, following Laura Whitmore's exit.

Speaking about her new role, Maya said: “I’ve always been such a massive Love Island fan and I’m so excited to be hosting one of the nation’s favourite shows! I can’t wait to get into the Villa to meet all of the Islanders.”

Maya, 28, has become one of the biggest TV and radio presenters in the UK.

Maya made the move from Bristol to London aged 16 to pursue her broadcasting career, and set up her own YouTube channel as well as landing a gig as a presenter for JumpOff TV.

Maya then became the host of MTV's The Wrap Up, before moving on to host MTV Essentials and MTV News.

In 2019 she became the new host of BBC Three's Glow Up after taking over from Stacey Dooley.

Maya hosted the Friday and Saturday 10 am-1 pm shows on BBC Radio 1 before leaving in May 2020.

Aside from her TV work, she has enjoyed success with fashion collections with PrettyLittleThing and JD Sports and has modelled for brands such as Adidas and Maybelline.

When will Love Island’s 2023 Winter series be on?

No official start date has been given just yet, but it's understood Winter Love Island will hit our screens in January 2023, with a rumoured start date of Monday, January 16.

Who won the last series of Winter Love Island?

The last series of Winter Love Island aired in 2020. The series was won by Paige Turley and Finn Tapp, who ultimately chose to split the €50,000 prize money.

Paige and Finn are one of the rare Love Island couples who are still together now.

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