Laura Whitmore Says There Was ‘Nothing More She Could Do’ With Love Island Role As She Explains Exit

Laura Whitmore has opened up about her exit from Love Island, claiming there was “nothing more” she could do with her hosting role.

The presenter announced she was leaving the ITV2 reality show last month after three series at the helm.

At the time, she said she found “certain elements of the show… very difficult”, including the travelling required.

In a new interview with ES Magazine, Laura has now further explained why she decided to quit, following the announcement she is to make her West End debut in play 2.22: A Ghost Story.

She said: “Love Island is a show that I love to watch, and I always want to work on shows that I enjoy. But there’s nothing more that I can do with it. There are parameters.

“When you work on the show, you can’t really talk about certain things. But I’m really proud of what I did, and proud to leave on what I think has been a brilliant series, with great winners.”

Laura said she was a “huge fan” of 2022 champions Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti, adding: “I know Love Island. People love a journey. No-one wants a happy relationship, because life isn’t a happy relationship. We want to see the ups and downs.”

Laura took over as the host of Love Island for the show’s first winter season in 2020, after her predecessor Caroline Flack stood down amid her legal issues at that time.

She paid tribute to the late star when announcing her departure, saying: “I was only planning to fill in for Caroline for a series and it turned into three series. I hope I did you proud Caroline.”

Maya Jama, AJ Odudu and former Islander Maura Higgins have all been linked to the role since Laura stepped down.

ITV recently confirmed that Love Island would be airing two seasons in 2023, the first of which will see the show returning to South Africa for the first time since its initial winter run received a mixed response in 2020.

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Love Island Host Laura Whitmore Defends Remi Interview After Facing Criticism

Laura Whitmore has defended her interview with eliminated Love Island contestant Remi Lambert after facing criticism on social media.

During Sunday night’s instalment of the ITV2 reality show, Remi became the latest Islander to leave the villa, and later spoke to the presenter via video-link on companion show Aftersun.

Many Love Island fans picked up on the fact Remi appeared to be quite emotional during the interview, with Laura asking him if he’d be up for rapping, as he’d been heard doing during his stint in the villa.

At the end of the interview, Laura told the panel: “Everything in me just wanted to cuddle him.”

Remi leaving the villa on Sunday night
Remi leaving the villa on Sunday night

ITV/Shutterstock

The following morning, one Love Island fan commented that Remi looked “broken” during the interview, accusing producers of asking him to rap “in bad faith” to “humiliate” him.

Laura then insisted: “Remi is a rapper and [was] asked in good faith in advance if he’d rap and prepare something which he did.

“Live telly is nerve-wrecking, believe me, so maybe he was a bit nervous but he deserved to have his time.”

Prior to this year’s Love Island launch show, Laura decided to get ahead of her usual detractors with a TikTok video addressing some of the criticism she claims to have faced every year since she took over as host.

This included comments about her salary, her decision to fly between Mallorca and the UK over the course of the series, her interview technique when she speaks to the Islanders and claims she’s “never in” the villa.

Love Island airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm on ITV2.

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Love Island Host Laura Whitmore Gets Real About Life In The Villa: ‘It Stinks’

Laura Whitmore has opened up about the reality of living in the Love Island villa during a new interview with Alan Carr. And as it turns out, the gaff absolutely stinks.

Yes, the Irish presenter was the latest guest on Alan’s podcast Life’s A Beach, during which she opened up about the distinct aroma of the Love Island residence.

“It smells so bad,” she admitted. “If you think about it – that amount of people, about 40 or 50 islanders go through it the whole summer. It starts off with about 10 or 12 and then more keep going in. And they’re like 18-year-olds.”

Laura continued: “The carpet, the fake tan, the make-up, the BO – it stinks!

“You know when they try to cover the BO with Lynx Africa? That’s what it smells like.”

The new series of Love Island launched earlier this month, with Laura at the helm for the third year running.

The original cast of Love Island 2022
The original cast of Love Island 2022

TV/Shutterstock

Before the new series’ debut, Laura decided to get ahead of her usual detractors with a TikTok video addressing some of the criticism she claims to have faced every year since she took over as host.

This included comments about her salary, her decision to fly between Mallorca and the UK over the course of the series, her interview technique when she speaks to the Islanders and claims she’s “never in” the villa.

On Monday night, Afia became the first Islander to be eliminated from the show this year, after the latest brutal recoupling.

Love Island airs nightly at 9pm on ITV2.

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Love Island Host Laura Whitmore Sounds The Alarm For The Return Of The Dating Show In First Teaser

Laura Whitmore sounds the alarm for the return of Love Island in the first teaser for the new series of the ITV2 dating show.

The host swings a pink mallet to smash the heart-shaped glass on an alarm, which reads: “In case of Love Island, crack on.”

Dressed in a red jumpsuit and sunglasses, Laura, who recently gave birth to her first child with husband Iain Stirling, the show’s narrator, smiles at the camera before taking a swing.

The 10-second promo ends with the words: “This is not a drill!”

The dating show is returning to the screen for the first time since February 2020 after the summer series was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first ever winter series was won by Paige Turley and Finley Tapp.

Another teaser for the new series shows a camera zooming in on the licence plate of a 4×4 which typically carries the new arrivals to the villa.

The plate reads LOV3.

The new series has been filmed adhering to government guidelines surrounding Covid-19.

The teaser will be shown during the first episode of The Masked Dancer, which starts at 7pm on Saturday on ITV and the ITV Hub.

Love Island returns this summer on ITV2 and the ITV Hub.

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Caroline Flack’s Love Island Stand-In Laura Whitmore Shares Heartbreaking Message Following Presenter’s Death

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Love Island’s Laura Whitmore On Working With Iain Stirling: ‘I Pray He’s Scared Enough Of Me Not To Say Anything He Shouldn’t’

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