Who Will Replace Maya Jama On Love Island? 9 Top Picks To Take Over

Maya Jama surprised reality TV fans this week when she announced she was stepping down as host of Love Island after nine seasons.

Following her success on The Celebrity Traitors, Maya revealed she was leaving the long-running reality show to “throw myself into something new”, and just a day later, it emerged that she had signed a new deal with Netflix.

Naturally, conversation has already turned to who could take over next at the helm of Love Island, which has previously been hosted by the late Caroline Flack and Laura Whitmore.

Here are some of our suggestions for who could land the gig next…

As soon as we heard there was a vacancy at Love Island, our minds immediately went to Maura Higgins, one of the reality show’s biggest success stories, who has recently been making a name for herself on the other side of the Atlantic, thanks to her appearances on The Traitors US and Dancing With The Stars.

While there’s no questioning Maura would be a great fit as Love Island’s fourth host, and her own experience in the villa would make for an interesting dynamic, The Sun has suggested she’s too busy with existing commitments – including as the host of a new reboot of Blind Date – to be a serious contender for the gig.

Maura is one of several former Islanders who’ve been touted as a potential successor to outgoing host Maya Jama.

Olivia Attwood has already been named by The Sun as an “obvious frontrunner” for the role, having previously appeared on Love Island at the height of the show’s popularity way back in 2017.

Almost a decade later, Olivia is now an ITV regular, often contributing to Loose Women as well as fronting shows like Olivia Attwood’s Bad Boyfriends and various documentary series.

Another former Islander who has repeatedly been mentioned as a potential new host for the show is Indiyah Polack.

Since making the final in 2022, Indiyah has forged ahead with a presenting career, co-hosting The Mobo Awards as well as fronting a show for Capital Xtra.

In that time, she’s remained a firm part of the Love Island family, too, regularly contributing to the companion series Aftersun and co-hosting the podcast The Morning After with Sam Thompson and an array of other former residents of the villa.

Similarly, Chloe Burrows made a name for herself on the seventh season of Love Island in 2021, but is now known as an influencer and presenter.

Earlier this year, Chloe took over as the host of Kiss’ flagship breakfast show, and is set to host the prank show Bad Baby.

Interestingly, the news of Maya’s departure from Love Island comes just as Chloe’s career is about to get a huge boost thanks to her upcoming appearance on this year’s season of I’m A Celebrity, following previous Islanders who’ve headed into the jungle like Maura and Olivia.

If we’re going to mention Love Island and this year’s I’m A Celebrity line-up in the same breath, though, we can’t not talk about Leomie Anderson.

After originally making a name for herself as a model, Leomie has since carved a new career for herself as a TV personality, most notably as host of the makeover show Glow Up (a role she took over from a certain Maya Jama).

Leomie is already a familiar face to Love Island fans thanks to her guest appearances on Aftersun, and is about to get a huge boost to her profile when she enters the jungle next week.

Not only are many Love Island fans already calling for GK Barry to become its new host, the woman herself has made no secret of her hopes to land the job.

“Get me in there!” she enthused. “I’ll do anything. First born child – have it. Not to sound desperate. I love it.”

GK already had a loyal following thanks to her podcast Saving Grace when she was cast on I’m A Celebrity in 2024, but since then, her career has only gone from strength to strength, earning her a spot on the Loose Women panel and, more recently, a job co-hosting Big Brother’s official companion series The Group Chat.

Throughout Love Island’s various iterations, Emily Atack has always been named in the media as a potential host, and this time around is no exception.

Earlier this month, Emily was even mentioned as a candidate to present ITV’s planned reboot of Take Me Out, but with a vacancy over at Love Island, that could also be a great fit for the comedian, actor and presenter.

AJ Odudu is now best known for co-hosting Big Brother on ITV2 with her right-hand man Will Best.

Her name has already been touted as a potential successor to Maya at the helm of Love Island – and she already seems game.

“Who doesn’t love love?” she told The Sun. “That’s what I’ll say.”

Kemi Rodgers is currently gearing up for her fourth season of the I’m A Celebrity companion show Unpacked, which she now hosts with reality star Sam Thompson.

Outside of that, she’s a regular on shows like Morning Live and the now-defunct Big Brother spin-off Late & Live, as well as fronting a regular show on Capital.