ITV and Laura Whitmore have announced she will no longer host Love Island, and has quit the show.
In a statement released on ITV’s Instagram page, the channel announced: “Sadly Laura Whitmore has chosen to leave Love Island. Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series’ of the show. We’re 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.”
Laura Whitmore added in a statement of her own: “Some news! I won’t be hosting the next series of Love Island. There are certain elements of the show I’ve found very difficult that cannot be changed some due to the format, including the flying back and forth to South Africa along with my new conflicting projects.
“I wish it was still possible but know you’ll be in safe hands. I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into 3 series. I hope I did you proud Caroline ❤️”
The “flying back and forth” Laura is referring to is the winter series of Love Island, which is likely to unfold in January and February 2023 and is filmed in South Africa. Earlier this summer, ITV announced the show would be back for two series next year, following the success of this year’s series. Back in 2020, Paige Turley and Fin Tapp were named king and queen of the series, though the summer season was cancelled that year due to lockdowns.