Following the news that Caroline Flack is to step down as the host of the upcoming series of Love Island, attention has already turned to which star ITV will get to replace her.
The presenter confirmed on Tuesday morning that, after five series, she’ll be giving the show’s first January edition a miss, after she was arrested and charged with assault last week.
She said: “In order not to detract attention from the upcoming series I feel the best thing I can do is stand down for series six. I want to wish the incredible team working on the show a fantastic series in Cape Town.”
With just under a month to go until the new series begins filming in South Africa, here are the top contenders to replace Caroline at the helm of Love Island...
Maya Jama
Even before Caroline confirmed that she was taking time away from Love Island, Maya Jama’s name cropped up in the press as one that fans would want to see replace her in the presenting gig.
The Radio 1 presenter made an impression on viewers when she appeared alongside Caroline on spin-off show Aftersun earlier this year, which prompted calls on social media for her to replace Caroline on a permanent basis
Maya is a vocal Love Island fan and already has some experience presenting reality TV, as she was the face of The Circle during its first series. Plus, given her own recent high-profile break-up, she’d be a good shoulder to cry on for the islanders.
Laura Whitmore
Similarly, Laura Whitmore was also immediately named in the press as a potential replacement when Caroline’s abuse charge was first reported last week.
Laura has taken over one of Caroline’s old gigs before, succeeding her as the host of I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here NOW!, and hosted the short-lived ITV2 dating show Survival Of The Fittest, which was originally touted as a “winter Love Island”, which was filmed in South Africa.
Interestingly, she’s also in a relationship with Love Island narrator Iain Stirling, which we’re sure fans of the show would love to see their interaction on screen.
Rylan Clark-Neal
Listen, as the host of Big Brother’s Bit On The Side for all those years (plus his own multiple reality TV appearances) no one could suggest that Rylan Clark-Neal wouldn’t be qualified for this gig.
And let’s face it, he’s already hosting pretty much every other show on telly, so why should Love Island be any different?
Only thing is though, Rylan has previously confessed to now watching Love Island out of solidarity to Big Brother, which isn’t exactly ideal.
Alison Hammond
Another popular choice on social media, Alison Hammond is already a favourite on daytime TV, but this could take her presenting career to the next level.
She’s got a totally different presenting style to Caroline, too, which would make her an interesting replacement, and we kind of want to see what kind of chaos she’d bring to the Love Island villa every time she stopped by with a bombshell announcement.
We already got a slight glimpse of what it might look like too, when Alison dropped by the villa earlier this year for a typically chaotic interview with Caroline for This Morning.
Maura Higgins
A number of former islanders have already been tipped for the gig, the first of which is Maura Higgins, who recently set tongues wagging when she was seen heading off to a mysterious hot location.
We should point out that it’s unlikely she’ll be getting Caroline’s job though, as she’s currently training for the upcoming series of Dancing On Ice, which we imagine will keep her too busy to be flying off to South Africa at the drop of a hat.
Dani Dyer
Also on the list of contenders is Dani Dyer, who won the fourth series of Love Island last year, and later hit headlines with her break-up from fellow contestant Jack Fincham.
Since then, she’s broken into the world of presenting with MTV show True Love Or True Lies, and returning to her old stomping ground could be a great way to make increase her profile. And who better than a former winner to host the show?
Amber Gill
We have to say, though, that if the job were to go to a former winner, our pick would be reigning champion Amber Gill.
Amber had no shortage of drama during her stint in the villa, so could definitely relate to the new crop of contestants, plus she’s still popular with the show’s fans on social media, who would no doubt be happy to see her back on their screens.
Joel Dommett
Joel Dommett literally just got back from presenting another series of I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp, the spin-off show that Caroline herself used to host.
If Love Island bosses are really looking to shake things up with their presenting – and have someone who won’t be compared too much to Caroline for the entire series – then getting a male presenter could be the way to go, and let’s face it, we don’t think his is a face that fans of the show are going to complain about looking at for the first few weeks of the year...
Emily Atack
Since leaving the jungle last year, Emily Atack has never been far away from her screens, and her popularity doesn’t seem to have wavered in that time, either.
Extra Camp viewers seemed to like her chemistry with co-host Joel Dommett on this year’s series, so perhaps ITV2 bosses could reunite them on January’s Love Island.
Rochelle Humes
The Mirror has named Rochelle Humes as a hot favourite for the job, having hosted a number of high-profile shows since The Saturdays went their separate ways.
While Rochelle’s TV appearances are mostly as part of a duo, either with Phillip Schofield or her husband Marvin, Love Island could be a good opportunity for her to spread her wings and fly solo, particularly if Caroline were to return for a future series.
Kelly Brook
She might seem like an unusual pick, but Kelly Brook was actually the original host of Love Island when its very first series aired in 2005, under the name Celebrity Love Island.
In fact, after Caroline Flack was linked to one of her exes, Kelly joked: “I can’t believe she’s doing Love Island and dating Danny Cipriani.
“I was like, ‘Is she just following my life or something?’. Hang on, I was the first host of Love Island, then I dated Danny. It’s like, what’s next... it’s just weird.”
Iain Stirling
Then again, Iain Stirling has done (if you’ll pardon the pun) such a sterling job as the “voice of Love Island” for the last five years, maybe this would be a good opportunity for him to step into the spotlight.
Since taking on the role of Love Island voice-over, Iain’s profile has gone from strength to strength, and he’s currently the host of his own ITV2 series, CelebAbility. Who wouldn’t want to see how he’d do chatting with the contestants he spends most of his days poking fun at...?
Love Island returns on ITV2 on Sunday 12 January.
