bosses

MAYA Jama has signed up for another series of Love Island — putting an end to speculation.

The host, 31, last night wrapped on the All Stars’ spin-off and will officially be back this summer.

A source said: “Love Island wouldn’t be the same without Maya so bosses are thrilled to confirm she’ll be in Majorca this summer.

“She remains one of the most-loved things about the show.”

Maya has been hosting Love Island UK since January 2023, beginning with the show’s ninth series.

She replaced former host Laura Whitmore and has since continued to host All Stars and Love Island games.

FURIOUS FANS

Love Island fans left ‘raging’ as ITV show ends on nail-biting cliffhanger

BUCKLE UP, MAYA!

Maya Jama shows off sensational curves in plunging dress for Love Island

Last month Maya cleared up confusion with fans over where she currently lives.

Penned over a screenshotted DM of a fan saying, “Have I missed a chapter?? You’ve moved from London?” in response to one of her past Instagram stories, Maya explained how she’s bought multiple houses.

“To answer my dms right now lol I also bought a house in the Cotswolds last year so I’ll be there sometimes, maybe I need to do a lil catch up life update vid or something soon.”

Maya followed up the post with a quick video where she’s utterly beaming about the news.

Switching out her usual glam for a maroon hoodie with a yellow graphic, she addressed the camera candidly saying: “Writing it like that just makes you sound like a braggy f**k but I’m very proud of myself.

“Council house Queen to multiple property owner.

“Honey, thank you!!!” 

Maya was born and raised in Brisol and has Somali descent as well as Swedish.

She moved to London at the age of 16 to pursue a career as an actress, even auditioning for Skins.

Strictly Come Dancing bosses are reportedly considering This Morning’s Sian Welby for a presenting role on the BBC series following the departure of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman

This Morning star Sian Welby is reportedly being considered for the hosting job on Strictly Come Dancing. Towards the end of last year, long-standing presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman shocked the nation when they announced that they had quit after more than a decade on air together.

Ever since the news broke, rumours have been rife with who might take on the coveted roles on the BBC Saturday night favourite, with celebrities such as X Factor star Rylan Clark, former Strictly finalist Fleur East and Bake Off’s Mel Giedroyc all being thrown into the mix.

But now, it’s thought that bosses are looking at Sian, a radio host and occasional This Morning presenter, who, coincidentally, bears a resemblance to Tess.

READ MORE: Shirley Ballas sparks fears she’s quit Strictly Come Dancing for rival showREAD MORE: Strictly’s Anton Du Beke ‘wanted to start again’ as he shares real reason for name change

Sian, 39, has become a favourite amongst the younger audience with her presenting job on Capital FM, and also stands in on This Morning, often appearing on main hosting duties with Dermot O’Leary and fronting the ITV Daytime competitions that often run across Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women.

A source said: “Sian might be less well-known than other names linked with Tess and Claudia’s jobs so far. But she’s got everything it takes with one special ingredient — a younger audience, thanks to her job on trendy Capital FM.

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “And working on This Morning ticks all the TV boxes. Execs have looked at her as someone who would be a good fit for the job!”

It comes just days after Zoe Ball and Emma Willis were both said to be going for the same job on the programme. Ahead of the series’ presumed return later this year, radio host Zoe, 55, and former Big Brother presenter Emma, 49, were said to be battling it out for the top job, and only one of them will be successful because bosses want to have someone “a bit more left field” for the other position.

A source said: “It’s a straight shoot-out between Zoe, who is the front-runner, and Emma. Only one will get it, not both. The senior execs want a traditional presenter working alongside a more left-field person, a female stand-up comedian.”

Fans can also expect the comedic aspects to continue in the programme in the style of Claudia, who has also enjoyed major success with fellow BBC show The Traitors, as the source added: “It’s felt the humour Claudia brought to the show, particularly in her ‘Claudatorium’, needs to carry on.”

Ever since Tess and Claudia broke the news that they were leaving, several big showbiz names have been rumoured to be their replacements, including Chris and Rosie Ramsay, Rylan Clark, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden and Angela Scanlon, amongst a host of others.

In the initial announcement, which consisted of a video of the pair sitting next to one another, Claudia began with: “Hi, it’s Claud and Tess. There have been some rumblings, and we want you to hear this from us…” Tess added: “Yeah, we have news. After 21 wonderfully joyful years on Strictly, we have decided the time is right to step aside and pass on the baton…”

“The very sparkly baton…” Claudia continued before she turned to Tess and said: “You’ve been here since the beginning…” Tess, who used to host the show with the late Bruce Forsyth, then replied: “2004 with Brucey – lovely Bruce.

“That’s over two decades ago, and a lot of that time has been with you. It’s been a huge part of our lives, hasn’t it? Since our children were literally babes in arms, and now they’re young adults, and I think, genuinely, we have cherished every second.”

Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show, and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television. We’ve been so lucky.

“And the audience as well, they’ve been so wonderful. They’ve been with us for this entire journey of 21 years, and we wouldn’t have a show without them, and they’ve been just so loyal and supportive.”

Claudia added: “We have, we’re so lucky to have been part of this amazing show, and we just want to thank the Strictly team because Strictly is the people who make it so thank you…” Tess agreed: “They are the very best team in television; we’ve been so lucky.”

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Charlie Lawson, famed for his legendary Coronation Street role of Jim McDonald, has said that soap bosses “can’t ruin” his character anymore after killing him off

Coronation Street legend Charlie Lawson has claimed that bosses “ruined” Jim McDonald with his final storyline. The actor, 66, starred as criminal Jim, famed for his tumultuous marriage to Rovers landlady Liz (Beverley Callard) on and off from 1989 but it was recently announced that the character will receive an off-screen death.

Over the years, the character, who is father to Steve (Simon Gregson) and Andy (Nicholas Cochrane), was involved in numerous hard-hitting storylines involving alcoholism, infidelity and domestic violence, and he had went to prison numerous times for his crimes.

Liz and Jim married twice, but split for the final time in 2005. During Jim’s last stint on the cobbles, he arrived with a woman claiming to be their daughter Katie, whom they had lost shortly after birth early in their marriage. He told Liz that there had been a mix up at the hospital, but this all turned out to be a lie. The girl who in question was actually Hannah, his new lover, and they had concocted a wicked scheme to try to scam Liz out of money.

READ MORE: Coronation Street’s Beverley Callard’s health woes after cancer diagnosisREAD MORE: Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson speaks out as ITV soap kills off Jim McDonald

The pair were later arrested but could not be charged with anything due to a lack of evidence, and Jim’s current whereabouts remain unknown. Charlie, who has also appeared in The Bill, Bread and Doctors throughout his lengthy television career, has now hit out at the “weak” storyline, which was brought in when Kate Oates, who later went on to work on EastEnders, was in charge of the soap.

Charlie said: “The storyline was weak. So many people contacted me to say they hated it. I agreed to it before I even saw the script. The work was lucrative — you can’t really turn it down. Now he can’t be ruined any more. He’s out of his misery.

“I know I will watch that last scene and be able to say, ‘Well, what a load of s***** that was’. I will raise a glass to the old Jim, the one I loved and was proud of, who spoke his mind, with cracking, strong storylines in the Nineties.”

However, Charlie, whose character became known for his catchphrase “so it is”, was informed of Jim’s death by bosses towards the end of last year, insisted that he has “no regrets” with how things have turned out. Speaking to The Sun, he added: “There are some bits I will miss about Corrie and some I won’t. But I have no regrets. That’s just life, so it is.”

It all comes just days after the actor, who has also enjoyed a stellar career in theatre, was contacted to directly by fans on X who wanted to discuss the controversial storyline. Writing to Charlie on X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan wrote: “It was grotesque. Whoever thought up that storyline had a warped mind, astonished it got beyond a ridiculed idea. Felt for @charlie_lawson1 having to act that out knowing how character’s legacy was being tarnished in that vile way.”

Another fan replied: “Yes, it was terrible, not least because it showed how little the writers knew about their own character!! As an experienced actor, Charlie would have known him inside out!! It was so lazy and weak and just didn’t make any sense!!!”

Other fans had also recalled the odd storyline, with one writing: “Started thinking about Jim McDonald’s absolutely dreadful 2018 stint in Corrie. His whole thing is that he wants his family together and damned be anyone who gets in his way. But the 2018 storyline is him going for revenge against Liz in the most hurtful way he can.

“Like even when he hit her in the 90s, that was in response to her confessing to an affair. Which is him seeing her as trying to break them apart. In that moment he’s not thinking how could you do that to me, he’s thinking how could you do that to us.”

Charlie did not respond to the tweets, but did initially repost them. Another fan wrote: “Absolutely atrocious story. It was actually even worse than when he robbed the bank. As silly as that was, at least A/ it was entertaining B/ it was more in character for Jim. This was the worst one of them all and ruined the character and the fact that they are not giving him a redemption is awful.”

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