{"id":371986,"date":"2026-01-15T20:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/371986\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:22:10","slug":"maya-jama-on-love-island-global-success-the-gentlemen-acting-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/371986\/","title":{"rendered":"Maya Jama on ‘Love Island’ Global Success, The Gentlemen Acting Debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBefore she became a globally recognized presenter as the face of \u201cLove Island<\/a>\u201d in the U.K., Maya Jama<\/a> dreamed of becoming an actor.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI was that kid who would be like, \u2018Let\u2019s have a performance in the front room and get all our family members to pay for a ticket,’\u201d the 31-year-old tells Variety on a cold December afternoon in London. We\u2019re tucked away in the cozy corner of a chic Chelsea restaurant, but Jama immediately proves she\u2019s no snob \u2014 she insisted on ordering from the kids\u2019 menu and is nibbling on battered prawn bites and a cheese quesadilla. \u201cI wasn\u2019t a good singer and I wasn\u2019t an amazing dancer; I just loved showing off to anyone, whatever I could do,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\n\tBritish audiences are used to seeing Jama in full-glam, but today she\u2019s dressed down and for the chilly weather, sporting a black beanie and matching puffer with minimal makeup and her impossibly shiny hair tucked back. Jama\u2019s just off the train from Manchester, where she\u2019s now living part-time to be closer to her boyfriend, Manchester City football star R\u00faben Dias. She also discloses before our interview that she\u2019s just gotten braces, which are hidden behind her teeth \u2014 hence the strange food order. \u201cSorry if I speak funny!\u201d she warns, but her smooth, made-for-radio voice never falters.<\/p>\n

\n\tGrowing up in Bristol, England, Jama got an early chance to pursue acting when at age 15 she auditioned for \u201cSkins,\u201d the raunchy, revolutionary British teen series that launched the careers of Daniel Kaluuya and Dev Patel. Set in the Southwestern city, \u201cSkins\u201d held auditions at several schools in the area in an effort to achieve authentic casting.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI got to the last stage with me and one other girl and I was convinced that was going to be my big break,\u201d Jama recalls. \u201cAnd then I didn\u2019t get it and I was like, \u2018Fuck acting. I\u2019m never doing this again.\u2019 And just completely gave up on the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt may have taken her more than a decade to get over that early rejection \u2014 during which Jama made a name for herself as one of the youngest BBC Radio One DJs ever and a sought-after presenter for shows like \u201cLove Island\u201d and \u201cThe Masked Singer\u201d \u2014 but she\u2019s finally trying her hand at acting again. Later this year, she\u2019ll make her proper debut in the second season of Guy Ritchie\u2019s critically acclaimed \u201cThe Gentlemen<\/a>,\u201d which in a full-circle moment, also happens to star \u201cSkins\u201d breakout Kaya Scodelario.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c[Kaya] messaged me before I came to set to be like, \u2018I know it\u2019s going to be a bit wild, but if you need anything, just let me know,’\u201d Jama says proudly. \u201cShe was so lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut before Jama dives into the acting world, she\u2019s hosting the second installment of \u201cLove Island\u201d spinoff \u201cAll Stars\u201d in South Africa, her seventh season as a presenter since joining the franchise in 2023. (The series was meant to premiere on Monday, but due to wildfires in the area, the premiere date was postponed to Jan. 17.) When asked how she\u2019s preparing for the upcoming season, Jama reveals that even she doesn\u2019t know the cast list until she arrives.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey don\u2019t tell me anything until I get there. They keep it so secret,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m kind of glad they do as well, because I would hate to be the one that fucked it. \u2018Maya reveals all\u2019 \u2014 yeah, it could happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, Jama discusses how much longer she\u2019ll stay on as \u201cLove Island\u201d host, ignoring internet hate and the acting role she\u2019d love to nab next.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHollie Molloy<\/p>\n

\t\tTake me back to getting the call that you would be the new \u201cLove Island\u201d host. What was that like?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI remember feeling quite scared. It was already such an established show, there\u2019d been two previous hosts already and the internet\u2019s mean sometimes. Going into a show where people love it so much, if you don\u2019t make it better or at least keep it the same, they\u2019re going to be horrible. And so I remember thinking, I\u2019m in a nice place in my life where things are going well \u2014 I could either stay the same or take a risk, and it could either completely fuck me over and everyone thinks I\u2019m terrible, or they\u2019re going to really love me and it will be the best thing I ever did. So I do remember feeling a bit worried, but then also like, you do not say no to an opportunity like this. But it ended up being amazing!<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s the biggest challenge of hosting?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think not looking online, because it\u2019s so tempting. Any normal human brain is like, \u201cOh, people are talking about me, let me have a look at what they\u2019re saying. Are they being nice, are they being mean?\u201d That\u2019s probably the hardest, because you do take it personally. And at the end of the day, it\u2019s a show where I don\u2019t have that much control. Like, I\u2019ve got to deliver my thing, I can add my opinions, but if they get cut out the edit, they get cut out the edit. And so you do your best, but I see the episode for the first time when it comes out like everybody else. That lack of control is obviously a bit nervy, but I trust the producers and they\u2019re a good team, so I feel like they wouldn\u2019t do me dirty.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s\u00a0a fact about \u201cLove Island\u201d that people\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0expect?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat they all eat lunch separately off camera. So the girls will all eat lunch together, the boys will all eat lunch together. And they have to eat with producers, so they\u2019re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the show. They can talk about TV or whatever, but they can\u2019t discuss anything that would make a difference in the villa. They keep them separate for that, so that\u2019s when they can talk about life and not love.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat do you think about the way \u201cLove Island\u201d has grown in the U.S.? What does that success say about the format in general?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s nuts. I think it was the first season that Ariana [Madix] did where I saw it everywhere and I thought, \u201cFuck, OK, they\u2019ve got the bug that the U.K. has.\u201d Because it\u2019s been a staple in this country for years and years, and it\u2019s such guilty pleasure TV. But to see it get the same response in America, being such a massive place compared to the U.K., it\u2019s just like, this is some worldwide shit now. And it\u2019s everywhere \u2014they\u2019ve got Spain and France [editions], they\u2019ve got loads across the world. It\u2019s kind of taken over, and it\u2019s been a long run. Usually, I feel like shows kind of die down after 10 years.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow long do you see yourself staying on as\u00a0host?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know, but I have no plans to leave yet. Before I started \u201cLove Island,\u201d I would say you can get what you need out of a show in two years, and then you move on. That was always kind of what I had in the back of my mind. But with a show like \u201cLove Island,\u201d it just feels like it keeps growing and I\u2019d be silly to leave now. It\u2019s not my whole life and it\u2019s fun, so I think as long as I enjoy it, I\u2019ll keep it up.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMaya Jama and the cast of \u201cLove Island: All Stars<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tITV<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019re finally chasing your acting dream \u2013 how did your role in \u201cThe Gentlemen\u201d come together?\u00a0Did you audition?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I did a proper audition. Scary! It\u2019s always been something in the back of my mind, but I\u2019ve just been so busy with presenting that I\u2019ve never had the chance to pursue it. I never want to do something and it be shit, so I was like, if I\u2019m going to do it, I want to train with someone and get as good as I can. So I said to my manager, \u201cOK, I\u2019m ready to maybe try some acting now,\u201d and we got an agent and he just started sending out loads of things. They were like, \u201cYou got an audition for \u2018The Gentlemen\u2019!\u201d And I didn\u2019t have to change my accent for [the character] or anything like that, so I felt like, OK, this is a safe entrance point. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt happened really quickly, like a week and a half later: \u201cYeah, you\u2019ve got the role!\u201d But we didn\u2019t know how big it was going to be or small, because nothing had been written yet, so it was just up in the air. So I knew I secretly had it, but I didn\u2019t know what the hell to expect. I did the tiniest little cameo in a Netflix series called \u201cThe Duchess,\u201d but it was like one day filming, whereas this was my first one where I had to properly learn lines and be on set for a few days. But I was so, so excited because I loved the series.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat can you tease about your character?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m allowed to say. But on the first day I came to set, it was the most overwhelming thing ever because it was all the leads in the room. And Guy Ritchie likes to change his lines as you\u2019re going, so I\u2019d spent two days learning every line, locked in, and then as soon as I got there he was like, \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll add this or change this.\u201d I thought, \u201cFuck me, in front of all these icons?!\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tAll of them were actually just really welcoming and supportive. We got on, had little drinks after work sometimes and it was really cool. We stayed on Guy Ritchie\u2019s estate for some of it, while we were filming. Waking up and being like, \u201cFucking hell, this is nuts, I\u2019m in Guy Ritchie\u2019s house!\u201d was insane.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was it like working with Ritchie?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAmazing. He\u2019s really kind and nice \u2014 he doesn\u2019t feel as intimidating as you\u2019d think, being who he is. He\u2019s very personable and he would be like, \u201cYeah, you\u2019re doing well\u201d and reassure me, which was really nice. He\u2019s just really involved and kind of a genius to watch, because everyone\u2019s practicing their lines and then he says something that\u2019s way better than the original. You just feel like you\u2019re in the presence of greatness.<\/p>\n

\t\tAre you hoping to act more after this? What\u00a0would be\u00a0your dream role?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I think so. I always joke that I want to play like, a crackhead. I would like something that people wouldn\u2019t expect, you know? Because obviously, the things that I do normally are quite glamorous and very girly. So I\u2019m kind of putting that out into the universe.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat else is on your goal list for 2026? Any resolutions?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI never do resolutions because I never stick to them \u2014 every year I\u2019ve tried, and it just fucks up every time. But, what would I like to achieve next year? I want to go to the Met Gala, but that\u2019s a completely different thing. Career-wise, I suppose \u201cThe Gentlemen\u201d does really well and I get a role as a villain after.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeginning Saturday, January 17, episodes of \u201cLove Island: All Stars\u201d premiere on Peacock every day at 9 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before she became a globally recognized presenter as the face of \u201cLove Island\u201d in the U.K., Maya Jama…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,574,2632,575,141773,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-371986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-love-island","tag-love-island-all-stars","tag-maya-jama","tag-the-gentlemen","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}