Who is new Love Island host Laura Whitmore?

Love Island looks to have avoided catastrophe by acting quickly to replace Caroline Flack after the former host stepped down earlier this week.

Laura Whitmore will now take on hosting duties ahead of the reality series’ winter launch – and she has already expressed her excitement at joining the programme, describing it as “the biggest show on television.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the new host.

Who is Laura Whitmore?

Hailing from Ireland, Whitmore is a 34-year-old broadcaster with over ten years’ experience in the television industry. She was also a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, making it to week 7 with partner Giovanni Pernice.

Where have I seen her before?

Whitmore has appeared on a range of ITV entertainment reality shows, having previously presented music interview show The Hot Desk, The Brits Backstage and I’m a Celebrity spin off, Get Me Out of Here! NOW!

More recently she was the presenter of ITV2 reality show Survival of the Fittest, which aired for one series in 2018.

What was Survival of the Fittest?

Oddly enough, Survival of the Fittest was billed as ‘Winter’s answer to Love Island’ so perhaps Whitmore was always fated to land a role on the show.

The series, which came from the same production company as Love Island, saw a team of boys and a team of girls compete with each other across a variety of mental and physical challenges.

Like winter Love Island, the series was filmed in South Africa – but it didn’t fare nearly as well as its sister show and was cancelled after its debut series on account of poor ratings.

What is the connection between Whitmore and Love Island narrator Iain Stirling?

Whitmore’s connections to Love Island are many – but her most personal link to the show concerns the programme’s popular narrator Iain Stirling.

And that’s because Stirling is actually Whitmore’s boyfriend! The pair are in a committed relationship having reportedly moved in together last December. 

What has Caroline Flack had to say?

Flack hasn’t made a public statement about her replacement so far, but Whitmore is a friend of the former host and claims she encouraged her to take the gig.

“Caroline is a brilliant host and also a friend,” Whitmore said.

She added: “We’ve spoken a lot in the last few days since she stepped down. She has been very kind to me and strongly pushed me for this role. I’ve watched her host every series and know I have big boots to fill. I will try and do it justice.”

Love Island returns to ITV2 on Sunday 12th January 2020