LAURA WHITMORE IS speaking to me from Cape Town, where she has just landed to present the new series of Love Island. ‘It’s bloody hot is what it is,’ she says. ‘It was 29 degrees yesterday! And I’m Irish, so I’ve SPF 50 with me. I’m not like all these bronzed bodies going in – I’m just trying not to be sunburnt.’
You’d understand if Laura was a little tense, considering the circumstances under which she’s joined the show: she replaces Caroline Flack, who bowed out of this series following an assault charge just before Christmas. For legal reasons, Laura is not allowed to chat about this, but points me to the statement she released: ‘[Caroline] has been incredibly gracious and supportive of me taking on the role for the winter series. She’s a brilliant host and I just hope that I can give the role the justice it deserves while she is taking some time off.’
On the phone, however, she sounds entirely relaxed – if a bit distracted by the fact that she’s forgotten the mosquito repellent. ‘Oh my God, I’ve just been bitten,’ she realises at one point. Her last-minute addition to the show, she says, has had its advantages. ‘I didn’t have a lot of time to plan, which is probably the best thing – you don’t have time to overthink. I actually don’t think it’s sunk in.’
Of course, she has plenty of experience, having presented I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! NOW! after breaking through in 2008 as the face of MTV News for seven years. But Love Island – one of the most-watched shows on television and incredibly high-profile – is set to take her career up a notch.
The most comforting advice she has received came from a famous pal, she reveals. ‘I was out for dinner with a group of friends just after Christmas, including Aisling Bea, and she said something that really hit home: “You’ve got this. You’ve presented live before, you’ve presented big shows before. You have all the practice – there’s nothing more you can do except just be there, and it’ll work itself out.” I thought that was really nice.’ Of course, Aisling is not the only well-known comedian to be able to offer reassuring words of advice. Laura’s other half is the voice of Love Island himself, Iain Stirling, with whom she’s been in a relationship since 2017, making them the ultimate Love Island power couple.
‘It’s funny, because a lot of people are saying, “Oh, is Iain giving you tips?”’ Laura says. ‘But I’m actually out here now and Iain hasn’t flown out yet, so he’s ringing me asking, “What’s the weather like, what should I bring with me?” We haven’t been to Cape Town before so, although the show is his baby and he’s been on it for so many years and is so iconic, there’s something that feels new about it, because it’s a new location.’
Winter Love Island is a genius idea. The weather here in the UK is miserable, the news is depressing, and we have never been more in need of the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the sun-soaked snogs and dramas of the villa’s occupants. Laura says she has always been a fan of the show, and not only because of Iain. ‘I’m watching the show, even if he wasn’t working on the show,’ she tells us with a laugh. Even her mother and aunt in Ireland watch it and text her about it. ‘The only people I’ve ever met who say they’re not a fan have never watched it. As soon as someone watches it, that’s it, they’re hooked.’
Indeed, many of us – intelligent women who consider ourselves feminists – have been surprised by the extent to which we care about who is mugging off whom. Why does she think the show has such wide appeal? ‘I actually think it’s the relatability,’ she says. ‘I know that sounds mad, because you have all these beautiful people going into the villa, but it’s all about relationships, which is something that everyone can identify with. You deal with things like unrequited love, or fancying someone that you shouldn’t, or what do you do when you start seeing someone but then you change your mind? We’ve all been in those situations.’
In every series, there’s been a moment on the companion show Aftersun when Caroline has had to interview the show’s ‘villain’, whether it’s Curtis Pritchard – who spectacularly broke up with Amy Hart last year – or Adam Collard, who, as they say on the show, ‘had his head turned’ multiple times during 2018’s series. How will Laura tackle those tricky conversations? ‘I spent years interviewing musicians at awards ceremonies who were drunk, so I’m like – if you can get through that on live television, you can do anything,’ she says lightly. ‘I think when you watch people in a show like this, it’s not Coronation Street; it’s real people. It’s real life – they’re not playing parts. And it’s important to remember that on a show like Aftersun. If someone has messed up, I will call them out, but I’ll also remember that they’re real people.’
Landing such a short-notice gig gave Laura little time to plan her wardrobe, which is usually a tad chicer than the standard villa-issue body-con (for instance, the vintage mini borrowed from sustainable fashion rental brand HURR Collective that she wore to the Global Citizen Prize last month). Luckily, she’s working with her long-time stylist Angie Smith (who also works with Holly Willoughby) on what to wear. ‘It’s going to be my personality, but with a Love Island twist.’
I ask how she’s feeling about doing Caroline’s famous slow-motion walk into the villa, and I get teased in response. ‘I’ll let you in on a little secret: I actually walk in real time and they slow it down,’ she laughs. ‘I’ve been walking for years now, and I’m going to take that knowledge of walking and let the editors do the slow-mo part.’ Sounds like the villa is in safe hands.
READ MORE: Wait, Have You Seen The Super Glamorous New Love Island Villa?
READ MORE: How Does A Person Actually Get Selected To Appear On Love Island?