Maya Jama is currently residing in South Africa while hosting Love Island All Stars. She took over from Laura Whitmore as the presenter of the ITV dating show in January 2023.
As she returned to South Africa to host the All Stars series, rumours began circulating about her future on the show, sparking speculation that she might be ready to step away from the role.
Despite this, Maya quickly dismissed the rumours of her departure anytime soon. In late 2024, Maya took to Instagram to address the speculation head-on, stating: “I will be hosting Love Island next year and have no plans to leave right now.”
As well as a source telling The Sun: “Maya adores hosting Love Island and thinks it’s a great fit for now.
But she’s keen to leave on a high and keep her career moving forward on the right tracks.”
However, while Maya remains committed to her current role, she has also expressed interest in branching out into acting.
As she previously mentioned, “I think I just want to enjoy the year and be open to all opportunities. I’d like to explore acting as well, just to put the feelers out there.”
This comment has only fuelled further speculation about her potential departure in the future.
So, if Maya does decide to step away, who are the most likely candidates to replace her?
Here’s a look at the latest odds for the next Love Island host:
| Candidate | Odds | Implied Probability |
|---|---|---|
| Maura Higgins | 10/11 | 52.4% |
| Olivia Attwood | 11/10 | 47.6% |
| Indiyah Polak | 11/8 | 42.1% |
| Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu | 2/1 | 33.3% |
| Chloe Burrows | 3/1 | 25% |
| Uma Jammeh | 4/1 | 20% |
| Georgia Steel | 5/1 | 16.7% |
| Chris Hughes | 11/2 | 15.4% |
According to expert James Leyfield from Casinos.com, if Maya Jama were to depart from Love Island anytime soon, the race to replace her would likely be a fierce competition among several strong contenders.
“Maura Higgins recently gave her career a big boost by appearing on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! late last year, but her best work of late has been fronting Love Island USA: Aftersun across the pond.
Maura has gained huge praise for her work on the Love Island US spin-off show, and it could be the perfect training ground for presenting the UK’s main show at some point,” James noted.
However, Maura may face stiff competition from two other former Love Island stars who have successfully transitioned into TV presenting roles: Olivia Attwood and Indiyah Polak.
Olivia appeared on the show in series three back in 2017, and launched her own dating show Olivia Attwood’s Bad Boyfriends last year. As well as gaining recognition as an ITV documentary maker, with Getting Filthy Rich and Olivia Attwood: The Price of Perfection.
Whilst Indiyah, who appeared on the show in series eight in 2022, has continued to grow within the Love Island community hosting the Love Island: The Morning After podcast and became a regular panellist on Love Island’s Aftersun spin off show.
Join the Daily Record’s WhatsApp community hereand get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
The rest of the table continues previous Islanders who have a strong social media following or continued to work within the presenting world after leaving the Love Island villa.
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletterhere.