Love Island 2021 host Laura Whitmore has admitted she still gets giddy with excitement when she arrives at the villa ahead of filming for the new series.
The presenter, 36, who took over hosting duties for the show's winter series last year, said she finds it 'really hard' staying impartial as she watches drama in the villa unfold, but she is 'so excited' to be back fronting the show.
Laura added that she'll probably 'be a little bit fangirling' when she finally gets to Mallorca and sees the summer series villa for the first time, as the reality show finally returns to screens after being postponed last year due to the Covid pandemic.
Returning: Love Island 2021 host Laura Whitmore, 36, has admitted she still gets giddy with excitement when she arrives at the villa ahead of filming for the new series
Speaking about the new series she said: 'I am so excited to be back hosting. It's been a year where I think we all need a bit more love and fun inour lives and I think everyone is ready for Love Island to be back – myself included.
'I'm really excited about seeing the Villa. I've never seen the Villa in Mallorca so I'll probably be there a little bit fangirling at the Villa. It's almost like a person to me. So I need to remember that I'm there doing a job, not just a fangirl.
'I haven't met any of the Islanders yet but I've heard from the people behind the scenes that they are an incredible cast - it's really exciting.'
Stunning: The presenter, who took over hosting duties for the show's winter series last year, said she finds it 'really hard' staying impartial as she watches drama in the villa unfold,
Asked whether she missed the series during its time off the air, Laura added: 'I've never worked a summer Love Island, so I'd normally be watching it on the telly. I really missed watching it. I couldn't watch the news anymore.
'I needed something that was a bit more fun – I think everyone's the same. Having the break from it has made people appreciate it more.'
Laura went onto say that her favourite part of hosting Love Island has been getting to see the behind-the-scenes management of the show and the vast scale of the production.
She continued: 'Purely from a fangirl point of view, getting to see behind the scenes of one of the best shows out there.
'It's like going on set of a movie and seeing how it works. I worked on TV shows before where it's a set and there's like three walls. In there it's not.
Beauty: Laura added that she'll probably 'be a little bit fangirling' when she finally gets to Mallorca and sees the summer series villa for the first time
'You can't see the cameras. I always wondered when you see shows like Love Island, how do they forget about the cameras, but you can understand how they can forget about them because they're kind of behind the wall or the glass…
'I walked in there, I was like, oh this is a really fun house to be staying in. Pretty fangirl to be able to see behind the scenes. Not many people get to do that.'
Detailing her ideal Islander, Laura continued: 'The perfect Islander, for me, is someone funny. Someone who stirs it up a little bit. You want characters, big personalities in there. Someone who goes for it.'
Laura also confessed she struggles with staying unbiased during some of the show's more tense moments, such as the infamous Casa Amor twist.
It's back! She added: 'I haven't met any of the Islanders yet but I've heard from the people behind the scenes that they are an incredible cast - it's really exciting'
She said: 'I find it really hard. I found it really hard after Casa Amor. Last year when I knew Callum was coming back with Molly and I had to walk in there, and I saw Shaughna… I knew he's walking in with another girl.
'All I wanted to say was run… but obviously I can't do that. Even my eyes… I couldn't look her in the eye. But I found that really hard, as she ended up picking nobody and I was thinking, ''Pick somebody!''. But I'm not allowed to say that, obviously.'
Offering her advice for this year's lineup, Laura added: 'The only thing I can say is be yourself. Eight weeks is a long time, if you try and play a game or try to be something you're not, you're going to get found out quite quickly.
'From watching the show, I would just say be yourself if you want to be in there for the long run.'