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Love Island host, Maya Jama, was notably absent from the show’s All Stars launch this week after she was forced to pull out of the glitzy event due to ill health

TV star, Maya Jama, has updated fans on her health after missing Love Island’s All Stars launch yesterday. Fans of the ITV reality show had hoped to see the host at the glitzy event in London – when the line-up was announced – however, Maya was forced to pull out after falling ill.

Thankfully, viewers needn’t worry because the Bristol-born star, 31, will still be hosting the show, which kicks off on Monday, January 12. Taking to Instagram, admitting she’d been ‘knocked out by flu’, Maya shared a snap of herself flying to South Africa where the series is filmed.

Seen lying in one of the aircraft’s plush beds, sporting a fluffy cream jumper and an eye mask, she wrote: “Used to spend this flight on the reds chatting away to the flight crew, but entering this year wholesome… Lol truthfully the flu came in last minute to kick my ass for the last 24hrs. Vitamin c’d up and praying the sun deletes it all, next stop,” with a South African flag emoji.

READ MORE: Maya Jama misses Love Island All Stars launch just days before show beginsREAD MORE: Love Island All Stars savage co-star row uncovered after cruel ‘dolphin’ tweet

While Maya was due to attend the loved-up launch on Monday, the panel’s host Elizabeth Day announced that she was unable to attend after feeling unwell.

Confirming her illness, a representative said: “Maya is unfortunately unwell and wasn’t able to attend this morning’s launch event. She looks forward to the Love Island All Stars premiere on January 12th.”

Fans can’t wait for the spin-off show to kick off next week in which former Islanders try and find love in the villa again.

And it already looks like there’s going to be plenty of drama before the opening credits have started rolling after fans uncovered a tweet by confirmed All Star, Helena Ford, which reveals her secret feud with a fellow star.

After the 2026 line-up was revealed by ITV yesterday, fans uncovered old tweets seemingly written by Helena in which she accuses series three’s Charlie Frederick of ‘closing down’ her 16th birthday party. The pair are set to reunite in the All Stars villa in just a few days time.

In a tweet which dates back to 2018, Helena appears to have written: “Nah that Charlie Fredrick [sic] kid got my 16th party closed down, said I looked like a dolphin.”

Sharing the tweet online, one fan wrote: “So seems like Helena and Charlie have met. Helena tweeted this about Charlie in 2018. This tweet went viral last year. #LoveIsland.”

Another wrote on Reddit: “This is bonkers. And honestly exactly the kind of beef I want lmaooooo please let this be a major plot point it’s so bizarre and hilarious.”

Meanwhile, a third declared: “Ok now this is the kinda foolishness I can get behind!”

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Carl Carlton, the funk and R&B singer known for upbeat, era-embodying singles like “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked)” has died. He was 72.

Carlton’s son, Carlton Hudgens II, posted to social media confirming the death on Sunday. “RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of She’s a Bad Mama Jama. Long hard fight in life and you will be missed.” The post did not cite a cause of death.

Born Carlton Hudgens in Detroit in 1953, he debuted as “Little Carl” Carlton, but changed his stage name and moved to Houston after he was signed to the local label Back Beat Records. He had a minor soul-scene hit in 1971 with “I Can Feel It,” and broke through nationally in 1974 when his regal cover of Robert Knight’s “Everlasting Love” hit No. 6 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and spent 15 weeks on that chart.

Carlton is perhaps best known for his 1981 single, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” a grooving and awestruck ode to the female form that hit No. 22 on the Hot 100 and helped his self-titled album that year reach gold status.

The song has enjoyed a long life in popular culture — it’s been sampled by rappers like Foxy Brown, BigXThaPlug and Flo Milli, and frequently appeared on soundtracks for TV shows and films like “Friends.”

He continued releasing records into the ‘80s, and appeared several times on “American Bandstand” and “Soul Train,“ though his output slowed in the ‘90s. In 2003, he performed for Barry Glazer’s TV special, “American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love, and Soul,” which featured Aretha Franklin and other marquee R&B and soul acts. His last album was 2010’s gospel LP “God Is Good.”