Maya Jama‘s debut as presenter was lauded by Love Island viewers, who couldn’t help but notice how many times she featured in the opening episode.
On Monday’s winter premiere, ten Islanders entered into partnerships, with a few steals along the way, before admitting they wanted to ‘keep their options open’ and get to know each other.
Aside from the annoying jargon and persistent technical difficulties, our new couples were formed, with biomedical student Tanya Manhenga marrying airport security worker Shaq Muhammad.
PE teacher Kai Fagan, called the “new Adam Collard,” was eventually paired with hair stylist Tanyel Revan, and administrator Anna-May Robey was eventually paired with TV salesperson Haris Namani.
The singletons ‘cracking on’ as usual for the bulk of the programme, but things took an unexpected turn when narrator Ian Stirling intimated that a new bombshell was stepping into the villa.
While viewers were attempting to figure out who the new beauty was, they were stunned to learn that it was presenter Maya, 28, who was returning to the villa for the second time to introduce the newcomer.


It didn’t take long for Maya’s tenure to be compared to that of previous host Laura Whitmore, who declared her resignation from the show in August 2022.
‘Maya back already ?? Laura would of been on a plane home by now,’ one person joked.
‘Maya has been in the villa more times than Laura did the whole season already,’ another added.
‘Not Maya making more appearances in one episode than Laura did all last season lol,’ a third person tweeted.
We can presume Laura, 37, hasn’t had time to catch up on the recent season because she is now in Morocco.
She later posted a photo of herself wearing a wide straw hat and a colourful attire, tagging the Moroccan city as her location.
Laura was then seen pouring a hot drink into a glass, writing: ‘Learning all the tricks! Thank you @saad_films for a great start to the week!’
It is unclear why Laura is currently in Morocco, but Saad Films, who she appears to be with said in their Instagram bio they ‘provide luxury services for foreign productions to facilitate their shooting.’
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.