Love Island narrator Iain Stirling might be the next to leave the ITV2 show after his wife Laura Whitmore announced her departure.
Laura, 37, took to social media and revealed that she won’t be back for the winter series of the ITV2 dating show, set to air in January, and she has decided to step down as host. Now, many fans are speculating that Scots comedian Iain, 34, could be following his wife's move and ditch the show too.
After Laura's shock announcement on Monday night, speculation is rife about who will be her replacement as Maya Jama is the bookies' current favourite. Paddy Power have made the TV and radio presenter the 11/8 favourite to replace Whitmore, while former Love Island USA host Arielle Vandenberg is also considered likely to make the move across the Atlantic (4/1).
And, if one Love Island departure wasn’t enough, following on from the mother of one's announcement, there has been a major shift in the odds for Iain to vacate the voiceover booth as well. The Scotsman is 7/2 to dump the show before the next series – in from 10/1 before the change of host.
A spokesman Paddy Power said: “It looks like it’s Laura Whit-no-more for the outgoing host, so Love Island bosses will be searching for her replacement. Given their ‘coupled up’ status, it’s now looking more likely that Iain Stirling follows suit and leaves too. That would certainly be a shock double dumping that even the show’s producers couldn’t have conjured up themselves!”
In her statement, Laura wrote: "Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love island. 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.
"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."
Laura faced a lot of criticism during her stint in the villa, and recently spoke out on what it is like to be a woman in the entertainment industry. Speaking on the Distractions Pieces podcast by Scroobius Pip, the presenter said that she is “very aware that not everyone gets talked about in the same way”.
She continued: “My male co-presenters — it was always talked about what I was wearing when I started working — no one’s talking about what they’re wearing. They’re not getting this. Meanwhile, the outside world will talk about how you look, what you’re wearing, who you’re dating, do you have a child, should you be doing this and all these things are talked about constantly.
“You have to remove yourself or you’ll just go crazy after a while. But I see my male counterparts not being talked about in the same way and that’s hard and unfair.”
Iain has narrated the show since it was rebooted in 2015, and has become a fan favourite for his constant hilarious quips towards the contestants. Writing on Reddit, one fan said: “WTF is this off-season?!?!?! Also any update on Iain? Wasn’t it rumoured he’d walk if Laura walked?”
A second mused: “I reckon Iain would quit if she’d been fired but not if she left voluntarily on good terms. So I guess we’ll see what happens.” Even before the latest series ended, one tweeted: “Laura ain’t it. She’s gotta go, Iain too if they’re a package deal.”
“ITV need to change the Love Island host next year, but if they sack Laura I feel Iain would stick with his wife and want to leave too,” commented another. A third suggested: “Just a thought: Ditch Laura AND Iain, replace them with Ekin Su and Davide?”
“No, I would like to see someone who isn’t famous host Love Island or they should just scrap it for good! Iain is deffo leaving soon #LoveIsland,” a fourth added.
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