‘Hosting Love Island has been so amazing; I love it so much. It feels like my dream job if I’m honest, I love just popping in and being able to add my own personality to it, and the outfits I get to wear! I’m obsessed with the series and have been for years.’
Of all the new faces appearing on Love Island this year, Maya Jama is by far the standout star. Within hours of her stepping into the villa on day one, fancams were made of her arrival on TikTok. Her wardrobe is so good it’s catalogued every week by The Fashion Finder on Instagram, and as far as presenting goes, she’s managed to make Aftersun a must-watch – a heady task for a show that already dominates the weekday evenings of its viewers, never mind the weekend.
She’s been dubbed a ‘major TV force to be reckoned with’ by industry experts since taking over hosting duties of the ITV hit show, ‘a true star’ according to talent manager Jonathan Shalit. It’s perhaps unsurprising for those that have followed her career closely, Maya has been preparing for this role for years. The 28-year-old started pursuing a presenting career in 2012, aged 16, and was presenting for the likes of MTV and Sky UK within two years.
In fact, we’re sat down to discuss an entirely different show, a three-part series by Birra Moretti on Prime Video called Live Italian – the release of which alongside her packed schedule is a testament to her enduring work ethic. Live Italian sees Maya travel to Italy to explore the country’s rich musical history, partnered with Italian singer, actress, and presenter Lodovica Comello as they hit the streets of Milan and Cremona.
‘I absolutely loved it,’ Maya says of filming the series. ‘I’ve not been to Italy that many times before and as a busy person myself just being able to stop and appreciate the little things in life, the food and scenery and music and culture, we really just got to take in everything. The music was my favourite part, usually I listen to soulful house and hip hop, but here we listened to opera and there were loads of live bands, it was really beautiful.’
But how on earth, I wonder, is she managing to balance all of this work? When we sit down to chat over Zoom, she’s just got off an 11-hour flight to South Africa, a journey she takes every two weeks to film Love Island. ‘From the outside, my schedule looks so much more hectic than it actually is,’ Maya laughs. ‘I do the live show every Sunday and then I’ll just catch up on my sleep on the flight most of the time. So, it's actually been quite nice and smooth.’
It helps that Maya has wanted the job for years, rumours have swirled of her potential to host the show since 2020. ‘It was perfect timing,’ she explains. ‘You know when you really want something, but it doesn’t happen the first time round? So then when it does eventually happen, you’re like, yeah this makes a lot more sense now.’
Has she felt the pressure to perform? ‘Definitely, I think because people have been saying they want me to host for a while, so I was scared I would let people down because a lot of people have championed me to get the role. I just wanted to live up to people’s expectations more than anything.’
I really just wanted to live up to people's expectations.
And that she has. Maya was largely dubbed the backbone of the show in those typically dry first few weeks of Love Island drama, but her standout moment of filming came at the same time as all of us: Casa Amor.
‘You could see my face, my jaw dropped when Tanya came in with Martin,’ Maya remembers. ‘I don’t get them to tell me beforehand because I want my reactions to be natural, so I was just as shocked as everyone else… I always want to run in and hug [the contestants] but obviously you’ve got to be professional. I’ll do little side winks and stuff in between takes, but they’re all super good and know what they’re doing. They’ve got good producers that come in after and make sure they’re alright, but it is super emotional. I’m surprised I haven’t shed a tear yet!’
Does she worry anyone is being misunderstood by the public? ‘Well, I always see if from a neutral eye… and I know how reality TV works,’ Maya says. ‘People need someone to say something about, sometimes they’ll love someone the next week they’ll hate them.
‘I just think people need to remember that you don’t see everything, it’s a one hour show and they’re there for 24 hours so it’s important not to be too harsh on anyone,’ She continues. ‘Everyone’s human, if all of us had a camera following us around for 24 hours, there’d be stuff that people would say “I don’t like here for that!”’
It makes her job all the more important then. Aftersun in particular is a chance for Islanders to share their truth after getting a glimpse of the public reaction to them, asking the right questions is imperative not only to give them that, but also to serve the viewers with answers to long-held questions. ‘It’s important to find that balance,’ Maya says. ‘I put myself in their shoes most of the time, I want to ask the right questions but also understand where they’re coming from and not go too far.’
Another area Maya has found the perfect balance? Her styling on the show. ‘My stylist Rhea Francois is amazing,’ Maya gushes. ‘We have a little chat at Aftersun about what the next two looks are going to be when I go into the villa. We want it to be sexy and fun, but then also because the islanders are mostly wearing like shorter skirts, to separate myself from the islanders but still be fun and young.’
As for post-Love Island, Maya just plans to have a nice break before the summer season returns. ‘I’ve only really got a little bit of time off, so I think I’ll actually go and do what I was doing in Italy and just chill out for a bit, enjoy the scenery and stay offline. It’s ZEN until we go back into Love Island season!’
Watch Birra Moretti’s ‘Live Italian’ on Prime Video from Friday, 10th March.