Love Island winter start date ‘revealed’ – and we don’t have long to wait-Stella Akinwumi-Entertainment – Metro

The winter series is launching pretty soon (Picture: ITV)

The official start date for the winter series of Love Island has reportedly been revealed and it looks like we’ll be seeing a fresh batch of contestants in a matter of weeks.

Devoted fans were over the moon as ITV confirmed that we will have a summer and winter series next year, with presenter Maya Jama taking the reins for the upcoming series after Laura Whitmore stepped down from the role.

According to reports, the new season is set to premiere on Monday January 16, which means the launch is just five weeks away.

‘Love Island bosses have planned for the show to start on Blue Monday – which is bound to give fans a massive lift on such a gloomy day,’ a source shared.

‘This year’s contestants will be flown out to South Africa earlier in January and will start filming for the first episode the day before.’

The Sun also claims that the South African villa is ‘absolutely amazing,’ and will feature the ‘sexiest’ islanders to date.

Maya Jama will be doing the famous slo-mo walk in the upcoming series (Picture: Getty)

Ekin-Su and Davide were crowned winners of this year’s series (Picture: ITV)

A Love Island spokesperson insisted to Metro.co.uk that ‘no date has been confirmed.’

It was announced that the last series of Love Island (won by Ekin-Su and Davide) would be Laura Whitmore’s final as host of the show after stepping into the role following the tragic death of Caroline Flack.

Laura had been the face of the hit show since 2020 – but it was announced in August that she wouldn’t be returning for another series.

After confirming her exit on Instagram, an ITV spokesperson said: ‘Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series of the show.

‘We are so grateful for everything she has brought to the programme but understand and respect her decision, and we look forward to working with her on upcoming ITV projects.’

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The internet was sent into overdrive with rumours over who could replace Laura, with popular names including former contestants Maura Higgins and Ekin-su Cülcüloğlu, comedian Katherine Ryan, actress Emily Atack, and dancer AJ Odudu.

However, ITV confirmed that the Don’t Hate The Playaz star Maya will be leading the charge.

‘I’ve always been such a massive Love Island fan and I’m so excited to be hosting one of the nation’s favourite shows!’ Maya enthused.

‘I can’t wait to get into the villa to meet all of the islanders.’

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