Cara de la Hoyde says she’s ‘totally buzzing’ for Maya Jama to take over (Pictures: Getty/Rex)
Love Island’s reported new host Maya Jama has been backed by Cara de la Hoyde, who reigned victorious in the villa in 2016.
Cara, 32, won the second series of the ITV2 competition series alongside her then-partner and now-husband Nathan Massey, 30.
Maya, 28, is believed to be taking over the role of hosting the reality show after Laura Whitmore, 37, surprisingly stepped down over the summer.
It’s said that Maya will take on her hosting duties during the winter series of Love Island in early 2023, which is set to take place in South Africa.
Cara, who apparently hasn’t watched Love Island for years, said: ‘I’m totally buzzing for Maya to take over. I’m going to have to start watching it again now.’
Speaking to The Sun, she continued: ‘She’s got so much personality. Love Island is going to be epic this winter. I can’t wait.’
Nothing is confirmed, but Maya Jama looks set to be taking over at the villa (Picture: Getty)
Maya is yet to be fully confirmed as the new host, but rumours remain strong and reports say that the BBC’s Glow Up host is finalising her contract.
She began her hosting career on Rinse FM, hosting the drivetime slot, before moving over to Radio 1 to work with former BBC veteran Scott Mills.
Cara won Love Island with partner Nathan back in 2016 (Picture: Getty)
She has also hosted the ITV singing competition Walk the Line, as well as appearing on Loose Women, and presenting the social media gameshow The Circle.
A source had previously mentioned to The Sun that ITV was Maya’s ‘dream option’ when considering the next stages of her TV career.
Laura Whitmore (left) stepped down in August after three seasons as the presenter of Love Island (Pictures: Getty)
Laura, who is married to the Love Island narrator Ian Sterling, shared a statement in August revealing that she would not be returning to the villa.
‘There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed – some due to the format.’
She cited ‘flying back and forth to South Africa’ as one of her reasons for stepping away, as well her upcoming ‘conflicting projects’.
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Laura took over as host of Love Island in 2020 – initially on a temporary basis before being given the job full-time after former host Caroline Flack’s death.
In her departing statement, Laura paid tribute to Caroline: ‘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.’
Watch Love Island on ITV Hub.
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Nothing is signed yet, but former contestants are getting excited.