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14th Jan 2020

Fans warm to Laura Whitmore following first ‘Aftersun’ appearance

Sarah Finnan

Many Love Island viewers seem to have changed their tune since watching the first Aftersun episode of the series.

Love Island returned to our TV screens on Sunday evening for the winter edition of the popular reality dating show. Marking the first episode of the all-new winter version, the series also saw Bray native Laura Whitmore make her debut as host of the series.

Laura replaces previous host Caroline Flack, who stepped down amid backlash following news of her arrest and assault charge.

Initial reactions to the Irish presenter varied – some hailing her a natural, others labelling her as being “boring”.

Also, the new host of Aftersun, the first episode aired last night and it seems that fans may have changed their tune on the Whitmore.

Public reaction online has been mostly positive with one fan saying: “Watching aftersun and wondering why Laura Whitmore never had this job sooner. V good”.

Bookies have put odds on the Whitmore becoming the permanent host of the show at 1/4, with chances of a Flack comeback at 10/1 (meaning a probability of less than 5 per cent).

A spokesperson for Paddy Power said:

“Laura Whitmore’s Love Island debut left some fans divided, but ultimately she appears to have conquered the majority who have warmed to her. It’s early days though and even though the show has a fickle audience we can’t see producers re-coupling with anyone else for now”.

Joining Laura on the couch for last night’s Aftersun was The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett along with Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo and previous islander Maura Higgins.

People were delighted to see two Irish ladies joining forces on the telly.

Yesterday’s episode of Love Island ended with a recoupling that saw Shaunagh and Leanne left without partners. Love Island returns tonight on ITV2 at 9pm with Aftersun on every Monday at 10pm.

(Header image courtesy of @thewhitmore)

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