Love Island’s launch night plunged into chaos as gale force wind rocks Maya Jama’s big moment
LOVE Island bosses were left battling a stormy opener — but for once it wasn’t the cast behind the mayhem.
Gale force winds swept in across the villa’s pool and garden, threatening to cause chaos on the opening night.
Blasts of 50mph buffeted the newly-built, £1.2million mansion in Cape Town, South Africa, as crew fought to film the scenes.
It came just hours after TV presenter and show host Maya Jama, 28, had made her much-hyped “epic” arrival by helicopter in scenes that will be aired on tonight’s launch show.
But the evening shoot was another matter, with the Islanders left shivering around the firepit.
DJ Maya, meanwhile, battled to avoid flashing the flesh in her thigh-high slit, slinky dress as the wind whipped in.
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Sound engineers struggled to record clear audio as the gusts rocked microphones and the crew fought to secure quality footage.
A source said: “ITV have big plans for this series to be more epic than ever, and were really excited about Maya’s big arrival on the helicopter so thank God that footage was all in the can before the winds crept up.
'Mayhem'
“But by the time it came to filming in the evening it had really kicked up a gear. It caused mayhem.
"Every department was affected — sound, lighting, cameras, wardrobe.
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"And poor Maya could’ve done without the worry of her dress whipping up on her first day on set.
“None of the Islanders expected to be shivering around the fire pit either, but it came into its own.”
Maya’s presence created another unexpected challenge for bosses.
The Sun has learnt that producers had to stop and restart filming a number of times because the cast were all desperate to chat to the new host instead of flirting with each other.
A separate source said: “They couldn’t get enough of Maya, asking her questions, wanting to chat about how excited they were to see her and all about the new job.
“The chat kept going off on a tangent however hard Maya tried to steer it back on course. It was cute really, and a lovely welcome for her.”
It comes as ITV teased what viewers will be able to expect from the series’ opener tonight.
A helicopter circles over the villa with the pilot announcing over the tannoy: “Maya Jama on board.”
It lands and Maya heads into the villa, explaining: “It’s a new year, in a brand new villa, it’s a stunning location ready for some sexy singles looking for love.
"All we need now are some Islanders.”
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Greeting the boys, Maya says: “Hello boys, you alright, shall we have a little chat?” The lads then line-up to await the girls’ arrival.
ITV has announced that viewers will be given the choice of which bombshell will rock the villa first, Macclesfield FC player Tom Clare, 23, or business exec Ellie Spence, 25.