After Laura Whitmore quit Love Island on Monday night, fans are speculating about the reason behind her departure.
Taking to Instagram to make her announcement, the mum-of-one, 37, revealed: "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," sharing a message to the late Caroline Flack as she ended the caption.
The star's decision to step down has come as a shock to many fans – with some already hedging their bets as to who will take on the role next.
Meanwhile, other Love Island viewers are sharing their theories as to why the presenter decided to step away from the ITV2 programme as she hinted at "difficult" elements in the format and "conflicting projects".
Recently, Laura spoke out against the backlash she was receiving from Love Island fans.
The presenter, who took over the hosting role from the late Love Island host Caroline, has described the spotlight on her hosting the gig as "exhausting and tough" throughout her time on the series.
Laura labelled the focus on her as "unfair" – particularly on social media, where she said that being a woman is "scary" – adding that men are not treated the same way during an interview earlier this month.
She told the Distracted Pieces podcast: "You know what’s hard? I’ve seen other women talked about online the way I’ve been talked about online.
"I saw when Caroline worked on the show what she got every year and I never knew how she handled it. I always thought, ‘Jesus, she’s so strong.’ And people aren’t as strong as you think they are.
"It’s scary when you start, you get the exact same stuff that she got like, ‘Where’s the presenter? They’re never in there.’
"I get that some of it you have to take with a pinch of salt, but then some of it is a bit exhausting."
Laura was criticised for earning a reported £600,000 to host the ITV2 dating show – which, based on her screen time on the main show during the series, apparently works out at £744 per second.
However, she rubbished the claims in a Instagram Story, writing: "£744 a second! I feel sorry for whoever was made attempt the ridiculous maths based on nothing but speculation [sic]," before joking: "Lads I've made 10k whilst writing this story!"
Meanwhile, some fans reckon Laura may be eyeing up becoming the new host of Big Brother as it gets ready for its comeback on ITV2 next year.
After hearing the news she'd quit, one fan tweeted: "Nah… Laura Whitmore is gonna host Big Brother. Mark my words," while a second said: "Laura Whitmore has left the presenting job on Love Island I bet the bookmakers are making her favourite to host the new Big Brother show."
After Laura told fans her Love Island journey was over an ITV spokesperson said: "Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series of the show.
"We are so grateful for everything she has brought to the programme but understand and respect her decision, and we look forward to working with her on upcoming ITV projects."
