Maya Jama says she has ‘no plans’ to leave Love Island despite launching an acting career in The Gentleman as she admits career pivot has always ‘been in the back of my mind’

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Maya Jama has confirmed she isn’t planning to step down from hosting Love Island, even though she’s excited about a potential acting role in the movie The Gentleman.

The 31-year-old host revealed she’s always secretly wanted to be an actress, even though she didn’t get the part she auditioned for on the show Skins when she was a teenager.

Skins is a British TV show aimed at teenagers. It’s a drama that follows a group of friends navigating their lives during their last two years of high school in Bristol, England.

With the new season of Love Island All Stars starting this week, Maya recently told Variety she used to believe people should only stay on the show for a maximum of two years to get the most out of the experience.

With the continued success of Love Island though, she has confessed that she has no plans to leave.

She explained that, given the continued success of Love Island, leaving the show now wouldn’t make sense.

‘It’s not my whole life and it’s fun, so I think as long as I enjoy it, I’ll keep it up.’

She explained that, like all the other actors, she had to audition for the role in The Gentleman.

She admitted she’d always been interested in acting, and she saw the show as a good way to start.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m so excited for Love Island All Stars to premiere tonight! Maya Jama is back to host, and we’re welcoming twelve Islanders who are hoping to find love a second time around. You might recognize some faces – Millie Court, Jack Keating, and Jess Harding are just a few of the familiar singles entering the villa, ready for another shot at romance.

The show is starting with a very dramatic first night! All twelve contestants will participate in a provocative icebreaker involving kissing, and it’s expected to immediately lead to a major argument.

Even before the show starts, two of the contestants on the popular dating show are facing trouble, and bookmakers Ladbrokes are already predicting who will be eliminated first.

Bookmakers predict Leanne Amaning and Charlie Frederick are most likely to be the first contestants voted off of the ITV2 show, at odds of 6 to 1.

At the other end of the betting odds, with a strong 3 to 1 chance of winning, are Millie, a previous champion, and Tommy Bradley, who competed in 2025.

According to Alex Apati from Ladbrokes, people are excited to see the newest group of Love Island stars go to South Africa, and current betting odds indicate Tommy and Millie are the favorites to win.

Leanne, age 28, is returning to the show after six years. She first appeared in 2020 and initially paired with Mike Boateng, but she later lost her attraction to him.

She was dumped from the villa on day 18 when Mike chose bombshell contestant Sophie Piper over her.

Charlie, who appeared on season four of the show in 2018, was eliminated after just a few days, along with Hayley Hughes.

After leaving the villa, Charlie and Hayley didn’t pursue a relationship. Charlie felt Hayley was responsible for their breakup, explaining he would have chosen someone else if he’d known she wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings.

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2026-01-15 23:36