Maya Indea Jama, born on August 14, 1994, is an English television presenter and radio DJ. She has co-presented various TV shows including Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer on BBC One with Peter Crouch and Alex Horne, as well as Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star for the third and fourth series, and Love Island on ITV2.
Jama has also co-presented Trending Live! on 4Music from 2015 to 2017, Cannonball on ITV in 2017, True Love or True Lies on MTV in 2018, and the first series of The Circle on Channel 4 with Alice Levine. In the radio world, she hosted #DriveWithMaya on Rinse FM from 2014 to 2017, and presented Radio 1’s Greatest Hits, as well as her eponymous show, Maya Jama on BBC Radio 1 from 2018 to 2020. Recently, in 2022, it was announced that she will be the new host of Love Island on ITV2.
Born and raised in Bristol, Maya Jama attended Cotham School. Her father is of Somali descent while her mother is of Swedish descent. Her mother, Sadie, named Jama after the American author and poet Maya Angelou. She has a brother, and her father was in prison for most of her childhood for crimes related to violence such as pub brawls and fights. At the age of 12, she stopped visiting her father in prison and did not think about him for about a decade. In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Jama stated that her father’s absence was normal for her, as her dad’s side of the family was supportive and made sure she and her brother did not feel like they were missing out on anything.
While working on the documentary When Dads Kill in 2017, Jama examined her relationship with her father and met him after his release from prison to get answers. Unfortunately, neither his words nor the information provided by his family shed light on why he ended up in prison. Jama still maintains a close relationship with her mother, and they have appeared together on talk shows and attended private celebrity events.
After moving to London in 2012 to pursue a media career, Maya Jama started out as an actress before eventually finding her calling as a TV presenter and fashion model. Inspired by Davina McCall and June Sarpong, Jama’s early presenting gigs included hosting the weekly music video countdown on JumpOff.TV and working for Sky UK on TRACE Sports.
In 2014, Jama presented Maya’s FIFA World Cup Cities for Copa90, a travelogue covering the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and co-hosted the Copa90 nine-part World Cup Taxi series. Later that year, she joined MTV as a presenter for The Wrap Up.
Jama’s career continued to soar as she hosted various events and shows, including the Pre-Brit Awards Party, the red carpet Facebook live stream, and the MOBO Awards. She co-presented Cannonball on ITV with Andrew Flintoff, Frankie Bridge, Radzi Chinyanganya, and Ryan Hand, and appeared as a guest panellist on ITV’s Loose Women.
In 2018, Jama co-presented the first series of The Circle on Channel 4 with Alice Levine, and became the team captain on ITV2 rap panel show Don’t Hate the Playaz. She also appeared on A League of Their Own Road Trip, The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, and Stand Up to Cancer.
In 2020, Jama presented Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer on BBC One and co-presented The Big New Year’s In. She became the new presenter of Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star in 2021 and appeared as a celebrity guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Jama was also announced as the host of Simon Cowell’s new music competition gameshow Walk The Line in 2021.
Finally, in October 2022, Jama was announced as the new presenter of ITV2’s Love Island, taking over from Laura Whitmore.
From 2014 to 2017, Maya Jama hosted a weekday show called #DriveWithMaya on Rinse FM. She then joined BBC Radio 1 in 2018, where she presented Radio 1’s Greatest Hits on Saturdays and co-hosted every Friday with Scott Mills and Chris Stark.
Additionally, she had her own show, Maya Jama, on Fridays and Saturdays from 2018 to 2020. However, on 15 May 2020, it was confirmed in a statement by the BBC that Jama had left Radio 1 after two years, as she had decided not to continue her contract. Her final show was broadcast on 3 May 2020. Jama stated on her Instagram that she had several exciting commitments planned for the future, which prevented her from continuing with her broadcasting segment at Radio 1.
She also expressed her gratitude to the team for their hard work and friendship during her time at the station.
Maya Jama hosted the podcast When Life Gives You Melons in partnership with Freya Lingerie in 2018, where she interviewed all-female guests about work, life, and relationships. Some of the guests included Katie Piper, Anna Richardson, Gemma Cairney, and Laura Whitmore.
She also became an ambassador for Savera UK in 2018, which provides services for individuals who have experienced or are at risk of ‘Honour’ Based Abuse and Harmful Practices. Jama donated blood for an NHS campaign in 2019, where it was discovered she had the rare Ro blood subtype.
Jama launched her successful clothing collection with PrettyLittleThing in June 2018, and a second collection in February 2019. She is an ambassador for Adidas, Aussie hair care brand, and appeared in campaigns for GAP, JD Sports, and Kurt Geiger.
In December 2020, Jama launched her own range of face and eye masks called MIJ Masks, which sold out within 24 hours.
Jama resides in West London, and supports both Bristol Rovers and West Ham United. However, in 2018, she faced criticism for a tweet she made when she was 17, where she laughed at a tweet mocking dark-skinned black women. She apologized for the post, stating that she was “an ignorant, stupid child” when the social media post was made in 2012.
Jama was in a relationship with British rapper Stormzy from 2015 to 2019, which inspired his song “Lessons.” She was reportedly dating NBA player Ben Simmons in 2021, but the couple reportedly ended their engagement in August 2022.