JUST as ITV unveiled sizzling pictures of Maya Jama with a flamethrower to promote the new Love Island series, the telly host threatened to torch the whole campaign with an image of her own.
At first glance, her Instagram post of a cup of tea on a desk seems innocuous enough — but a closer look reveals it is branded with a Netflix logo.
The behind-the-scenes snap of her meeting with the streaming giant suggests she is ready to jump ship, just as Emma Willis, Holly Willoughby and most recently Amanda Holden have done before her.
A source said: “On face value, the photo was simply a cup of herbal tea resting on a boardroom table.
“But it was enough to send bosses at ITV reeling.
“She’s a piping-hot commodity and is justified in feeling proud of meeting with Netflix, but the message it sent was crystal clear — Maya is open to offers.”
It is a stab in the back for ITV, who were the first to take Maya from obscure but trendy series including rap panel show Don’t Hate The Playaz into the mainstream.
When she became host of Love Island in January 2023, it sealed her place among the UK showbiz elite and boosted her capital tenfold.
She went from brand deals with Freya, Pretty Little Thing and JD Sports to Dolce & Gabbana and gracing the cover of Vogue.
And it has taken her Stateside, where she helmed the global spin-off Love Island Games.
ITV also made her dreams come true by installing her as host of The Brit Awards, with her posting online at the time: “I wrote down a list of goals as a presenter and this was the final one I had to tick off.”
It has clearly given Maya a taste of what she could achieve beyond the walls of ITV — and I’ve seen first hand how she will not be tamed.
Last summer I spent some time with the star at the Love Island villa in Majorca.
She had just wrapped a piece to camera for Good Morning Britain and was dressed for telly with full hair and make-up, wearing an eye-catching orange two-piece — and a pair of white hotel slippers.
“I can’t be ar*ed with heels if my feet aren’t on camera,” she said with a laugh. A few weeks later she went on to attract Ofcom complaints when she declared on live TV: “Let’s not get my fnny out.”
It is close to the wire.
But it is this rare alchemy of down-the-pub relatability and supermodel looks that makes Maya one of a kind.
The source added: “Maya is like lightning in a bottle.
“She is unlike anyone else on telly and it’s that which has made her indispensable to ITV as the face of Love Island.
“Since taking over from Laura Whitmore in 2023 she has boosted viewers in the 16 to 24 age group immeasurably and it’s that screen magic which makes her such an asset to ITV.
“And it is why Netflix wants her, too.
“On the flipside it means she gets away with murder, and the Netflix meeting photo is just another example of that.
“The fact is ITV probably need her more than she needs them, and she knows it.”
There was a time when ITV was the home of prime-time entertainment and landing your own show for the channel was the pinnacle of a presenter’s career.
As such, its stable of talent held Britain’s biggest names.
Faces like Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Louis Walsh, Alan Carr and umpteen others were splashed across the lift doors at ITV Studios on London’s South Bank.
Celebs told how getting their face on the lift became an “I’ve made it” moment.
But the lustre of ITV Towers — now relocated to West London — seems to have lost its glimmer.
Only Ant and Dec hold a “golden handcuffs” deal with the channel, and the past six months has seen some of those former stalwarts tempted by the bright lights of Netflix and other big networks.
Maya is lightning in a bottle, boosting the 16-24 audience. That’s made her indispensible to ITV and it’s why Netflix want her too
Sun source
The Voice’s Emma Willis will present Netflix’s Love Is Blind alongside her husband, Busted bassist Matt, and also works for Prime Video with The World Cook.
This Morning’s Holly Willoughby is now only tied to ITV through her hosting role on Dancing On Ice — with question marks over whether she will even return to the skate show in January.
She will begin filming for much-hyped Netflix challenge show Bear Hunt in Costa Rica this month.
The Sun this week revealed how Britain’s Got Talent’s Amanda Holden has landed a dating show, Cheaters: Unfinished Business, for the streamer. And it is not just the girls.
Simon Cowell has chosen Netflix for his new talent show to find the next big boy band.
And The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett has also signed on to present a new project.
A source said: “All of them still love working for ITV and the teams built around them.
“But loyalty only goes so far when you’ve got the chance to share a network with megastars like the Hollywood actors who produce and star in Netflix originals.
“That’s before you even consider the fact it turns our famous faces into global names and brings a bumper payday. Netflix has very deep pockets.
“Changes in taxation also mean presenters are far better off moving around than tying themselves to one set salary.”
It is perhaps unsurprising to hear Netflix’s revenue continues to rocket.
Last year, it raked in £26.5billion — seven per cent more than the year before, with 260million streaming memberships.
By comparison, ITV reported a two per cent drop to £3.6billion in group revenue.
It has 12.5million active users of its ITVX streaming service.
The US streaming site is valued at almost £200billion whereas ITV is worth £2.89billion.
So losing its golden girls could not come at a worse time for ITV — not least as there is a lack of women on primetime telly as it is.
Amanda Holden told me last month: “I do agree there needs to be more women on a Saturday night — there’s always room for more.”
Emma Willis had the same message when I spoke to her, adding: “Yeah, The Voice is male-heavy, but hey, I’m there.”
Maya might have lit a warning beacon with her boardroom cuppa, but for now she remains Love Island’s goddess.
Tonight, ITV will unleash the new promotional trailer for Love Island’s eleventh series.
Dressed in this figure-hugging silver boiler suit, Maya ignites a flamethrower as she takes off her helmet and says: “Where there’s love, there’s fire.”
Under Maya, Love Island has been streamed more than 300million times on ITVX.
And the recent All Stars spin-off is the UK’s biggest digital programme of the year so far, with 100million of those streams.
By all accounts, Maya is a real fan of the show too and is aware of just how much it has changed her life.
Back in the villa, she told the group of journalists there with her: “When I first started telly, I was 18, and I remember being like, ‘My life’s changed and people are gonna recognise me in Tesco’. They didn’t!
“But being on Love Island definitely changed stuff for me.
“Before, it would just be young people, but now it’s nannas, too.
“I flew to New York recently and the woman at immigration wasn’t asking me any questions about why I was in the country, but instead about everything that went down in the last series.
“It’s a nice feeling to be involved in a show that I’ve loved and been a fan of for so long.”
In three weeks’ time Maya will be back on the island for the dating series.
And ITV will be hoping a dose of sun, sea and sexy young things keeps Maya’s mind off that cup of herbal tea.