The next series of Love Island is set for a huge shake-up as the new host has finally been announced.
After months of speculation, it's been confirmed that Maya Jama will take over the hosting duties in early 2023, replacing Laura Whitmore.
Laure announced back in August that she was quitting her role as host, which she first took on in 2020 following the death of Caroline Flack.
In a statement released announcing the news, 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.”
Director of reality programming and acquisitions at ITV Paul Mortimer added: “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."
Here's who Maya Jama is and why she is famous.
Who is Maya Jama?
Maya Jama is a television, radio presenter and DJ.
She was born in Bristol in 1994 and was named after the poet Maya Angelou.
The presenter had a tough beginning to her life, with her father spending most of her childhood in prison.
Opening up about the difficult time with The Guardian, Maya previously said: "I did visit my dad in jail up until I was about 10.
“[However, I stopped when] I realised that I don’t want to dedicate my time to visiting somebody who doesn’t want to dedicate their time to staying out of jail."
But Maya wasn't going to let her tough upbringing get in the way of her career, and the 28-year-old has gone on to become hugely successful.
She is best known for her on-screen career, which has seen her appear on Walk The Line and Soccer Aid, but she's also had a lucrative modelling career, working with brands including Kurt Geiger, Gap and Adidas.
How did Maya Jama get famous?
Maya Jama initially started her presenting career when she was just a teenager, moving from Bristol to London before turning 17 to pursue her media career.
The presenter kickstarted her career with a gig presenting the weekly music video countdown for JumpOff.TV.
In 2014, she gained recognition hosting a travelogue covering the Brazil World Cup for Copa90, titled Maya's FIFA World Cup Cities.
Following this she joined MTV as a presenter for The Wrap Up and in 2017 she became the youngest person ever to co-host the Mobo Awards.
She then joined Radio 1 and got her first lead presenter role on MTV’s True Love Or True Lies.
Since then, Maya has continued to appear on screens more and more, including co-presenting the ITV game show Cannonball, appearing as a panellist on Loose Women and presenting Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star.
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