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Daily Record

Entertainment

Elly Rewcastle

Love Island: Who will replace Laura Whitmore as presenter decides to step down?

Laura Whitmore Laura Anderson Instagram Caroline Flack EkinSu Cülcüloğlu Maya Jama Olivia Attwood Emily Atack Paige Thorne

Love Island host Laura Whitmore has made the decision to step down. The star, who said she had only signed on as host for a limited time, made the announcement on her Instagram page.

Laura first started presenting ITV2's flagship dating show in 2020 following the death of former host Caroline Flack. Her husband, Iain Stirling, is the man behind the show's famous and witty voiceover and the couple has one child together.

Announcing the news on her Instagram, Laura said: "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."

She added: "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."

In a final line, Laura added: "I hope I did you proud Caroline".

Who will the next host of Love Island be?

With the news of Laura's departure, fans have quickly started to speculate as to who will fill her shoes. Audiences have been reassured that they'll be in good hands with whoever comes next.

Maya Jama

Maya Jama is the bookies' favourite at odds of 3/1. The DJ, radio and TV presenter would be a perfect fit for the show.

This wouldn't be the first time that Maya has fronted a dating show as she previously hosted MTV's True Love or True Lies. She also has experience on reality TV as the host of Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star, which she took over from BBC-favourite Stacey Dooley.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu

Despite being the newest face on this list, reigning champion Ekin-Su quickly became a firm fan favourite alongside partner Davide on this year's series. Since leaving the show just weeks ago, she has already signed on the dotted line for a £1m deal with fashion brand Oh Polly.

Maura Higgins

Sticking with the Love Island alumnae, fans have touted the 2019 bombshell as an excellent replacement, with her epic one-liners sure to go down a storm with audiences. The 31-year-old star has gained a huge following since her time on the show and has even added hosting duties on Glow Up Ireland to her resume.

Emily Atack

The comedian and actress is best known for her role as Charlotte in The Inbetweeners and as runner-up behind Harry Redknapp in I'm A Celebrity. The host of her own comedy show, The Emily Atack Show, Emily won over fans when she joined the Celebrity Juice panel, proving she can more than handle the pressure.

Olivia Attwood and Amber Rose Gill

Sticking with familiar faces, tied at 10/1 are alumnae Olivia and Amber. Olivia appeared on the series in 2017 and made quite the impression on viewers, she has since fronted her own ITV2 documentary series.

Meanwhile, Amber, who won the 2019 series, split from partner Greg just weeks after departing the villa. She has since presented the ITV series The Full Treatment, as well as competing on the Channel 4 survival series Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Honourable mentions

If we are to believe the bookmakers, these people are unlikely to be strutting into the villa any time soon. However, that doesn't mean we don't love an underdog and some of these mentions would make a great addition to the show.

There's no doubt that Rylan Clark-Neal would bring spice and drama to the show, a star on the X Factor and a winner of Celebrity Big Brother is no stranger to reality TV. Elsewhere, Alice Levine , the host of The Circle and familiar voice of saucy podcast My Dad Wrote A Porno, is another name being floated around by both fans and bookies alike.

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