{"id":2229527,"date":"2026-10-30T17:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2229527"},"modified":"2026-10-30T17:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T14:00:55","slug":"how-maya-jama-went-from-bristol-native-to-celebrity-traitors-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2229527","title":{"rendered":"How Maya Jama went from Bristol native to Celebrity Traitors star"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/d00f\/live\/c92c5060-d49b-11f1-9221-935a51ab8e4c.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"BBCBBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Maya Jama joined a star-studded line-up of celebrities, including Michael Sheen, in the BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Maya Jama has gone from Bristol schoolgirl to one of the UK’s biggest television stars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The 32-year-old Love Island host was watched by millions as she faced the last round table in the final of The Celebrity Traitors, which aired on BBC One and iPlayer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But behind the glamorous television appearances and red carpet moments is a story that began in a council house with a young girl determined to make it on the small screen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Maya was born and raised in Bristol, growing up in St Paul’s with a family of Bristol Rovers supporters, putting on song and dance performances for them and charging 20p a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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  • Spoiler warning: This article reveals details from episode 10 of The Celebrity Traitors, series two<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    She was born in St Paul’s in 1994 and grew up in Bristol with her Swedish mother, Sadie, younger brother Omar and extended family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Although Bristol is where she spent much of her childhood, she also has strong connections to Sweden through her mum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She spent time in Sweden as a young child, attended nursery there and regularly returned for family visits during Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Her Swedish roots are something she has spoken about fondly, even recalling getting upset when Sweden lost to Brazil in a World Cup match as a child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"PAPA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    Maya Jama grew up in a council house in St Paul’s<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Back in Bristol, Maya grew up around Stokes Croft before moving to the Cotham and Redland area, where she attended Cotham School.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She has previously spoken about growing up in a council house and being surrounded by family and friends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    In a 2019 interview with the Evening Standard, she recalled being a “proper little show child”, putting on performances in the front room and charging family members 20p to watch her dance and sing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Her mum encouraged her ambitions, even when they seemed a long way from the world of television.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    Maya and rapper Stormzy dated on and off from 2014, before finally ending their relationship in 2024<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Maya’s childhood was not without its difficulties. Her mother worked multiple jobs to support the family, and Maya has spoken openly about the financial pressures they faced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    In a 2021 interview with ITV News West Country, she explained how free school meals had been a “massive, massive help” while she was growing up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She said: “We’d go to the cheaper food shops and my mum would make sure we’d ate everything on our plate because you didn’t know when you were going to get your next healthy meal.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Despite the challenges, Maya had ambitions to work in entertainment from a young age.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    Maya Jama hosted the Brit Awards in 2024 for ITV alongside Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    At 16, she made the move from Bristol to London to pursue a career in the industry. It was a big step, but one she felt she needed to take if she wanted to make her television dreams a reality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Her first opportunities came through music and online broadcasting. She began presenting a weekly music video countdown for production company JumpOff TV before joining MTV in 2014 as a presenter on The Wrap Up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She also worked in radio, building her profile through stations including Rinse FM, before landing a presenting role on BBC Radio 1 in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Her career continued to gather pace, and in 2017 she became the youngest person to host the MOBO Awards, alongside Marvin Humes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    \"Maya<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    The Celebrity Traitors final aired at 20:00 GMT on BBC One<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    She went on to present a string of television programmes, including Channel 4’s Stand Up To Cancer and ITV2’s Don’t Hate the Playaz, before taking over as host of BBC Three’s Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star in 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    But perhaps her biggest presenting role came in 2023 when she became the new host of ITV’s Love Island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Taking over one of the UK’s most talked-about reality shows made her a familiar face in households across the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She has since fronted further editions of the programme, including Love Island: All Stars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    This month she was back on our screens in a very different role, competing as a Traitor alongside King Kenny in the The Celebrity Traitors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    She made it to the final but was banished from the castle at the last round table. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    Follow BBC Bristol on <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>X<\/i> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i>. Send your story ideas to us on email or via <\/i>WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cjr4ypw5v9n6o”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/d00f\/live\/c92c5060-d49b-11f1-9221-935a51ab8e4c.jpg”] BBC Maya Jama joined a star-studded line-up of celebrities, including Michael Sheen, in the BBC’s The Celebrity Traitors Maya Jama has gone from Bristol schoolgirl to one of the UK’s biggest television stars. The 32-year-old Love Island host was watched by millions as she faced the last round table in the final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2229527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2229527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2229527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2229527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2229527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}