'Love Island' 2024: ITV discuss villa location change as host Maya Jama says 'something exciting' is coming

It might not seem like it when you look at the weather, but summer is almost here - and for reality TV fans that means one thing; ‘Love Island’ will be back soon.

ITV have already confirmed in their Spring schedule that ‘Love Island’ will return for its 11th series at some point between April and June, but an exact release date is yet to be announced. However, it’s been rumoured that the show could be set for a big shake-up this season as there could be a new location for the villa where the singletons meet.

Producers are said to be prepared to quadruple their weekly budget to gain a new setting for the popular ITV 2 dating show, according to a report in ‘The Mirror’. One luxurious property, which is said to be shaped like a UFO and is in Portugal’s Algarve, is said to be the favourite at the moment. A team from ITV Studios is supposedly being sent out to the sun-soaked holiday resort to view it later this month.

ITV bosses are said to have a list of ‘must-haves’ for the new villa, including 65 metres of wardrobe space for the contestant’s clothes, a huge terrace garden, a swimming pool, plus a separate hideaway area.

A source said: “ITV Studios are scouting out properties for an unconfirmed forthcoming series and are prepared to splash out £20k a week on the right one. They’ve got their eye on an incredible sprawling villa in the Algarve that is completely different to their more traditional current abode. It’s circular and really modern, and it’s been used for a French reality show before so it’s well set up for filming.”

ITV has confirmed to ‘Digital Spy’ that a new location is not being sought for this year’s upcoming series, but they did not comment on the suggestion that the venue will change next year. A spokesperson for ITV told the publication: "We look forward to returning to Mallorca and our iconic villa for the forthcoming series of ‘Love Island’ this summer.”

The news comes as Maya Jama, who has been the presenter of ‘Love Island’ since October 2022, has teased her Instagram fans that “something exciting” is coming soon. Posting an image of herself wearing a corset dress and taking a selfie in a mirror, the 29-year-old host wrote: “Something exciting coming soon.”

It’s not clear exactly what Jama was alluding to, but considering that the usual launch time of ‘Love Island’ is late May or early June, fans have excitedly speculated that her cryptic post does relate to the reality TV show.

‘Love Island’ will return to ITV2 this summer in its current villa, Sa Vinyassa, on the outskirts of Cala d’Or on the Balearic island. It reportedly costs ITV £5,000 a week to rent.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the current series of ‘Love Island’, which launched in 2015. ‘Love Island’ was originally an ITV celebrity dating show when it was launched in 2005. The first series was called ‘Celebrity Love Island’, but by the time the second series aired in 2006 the word celebrity had been dropped from the name.

In 2015, ITV announced that the show would be returning - but with everyday people rather than celebrities. Since then, it has been hugely successful and influential. ‘Love Island’ became ITV2’s most watched show in the network’s history in 2018, and in 2020 it was the most watched TV show among its target audience of 16 to 34 year olds.

The franchise, fronted by Maya Jama, is yet to be recommissioned beyond this year but bosses have reportedly already spoken about ‘Love Island’s 10th year. It has been suggested that to mark the milestone there may be a big change to the show, such as a location and villa change, but this has not been officially spoken about by ITV.