ITV cuts Love Island All Stars villa as cost savings reshape set and daytime schedule

ITV has scrapped the plush Ludus Magnus mansion in Cape Town used for the Love Island All Stars edition and replaced it with a far cheaper option as part of a broad cost-cutting drive. Cameras will not return to the estate that reportedly cost around £4,000 a night. Islanders will instead be housed at Midden Cottage, a £640-a-night property last seen in the 2020 winter series. The downgrade is among the starkest examples yet of the broadcaster's belt-tightening ahead of the All Stars return in January, which executives hope will still draw a large audience.

Host Maya Jama's future on the show remains unresolved publicly, with contract renewal talks reportedly stalled. A source told The Sun that Jama remains in demand but still enjoys presenting Love Island and that executives are hopeful the deal will be sorted, though logistics on Jama's team have slowed progress. Beyond Jama, ITV's belt-tightening has touched other familiar faces. Charlotte Hawkins, a long-time Good Morning Britain presenter, is among the first high-profile names affected by the cuts: she is no longer exclusively contracted to GMB and will read news bulletins across ITV's schedule, from lunchtime and evening updates to the News at Ten.

Internal notes show budget pressures extending to day-to-day operations. In one ITN-studio move, staff were told that toasters would not be provided in new offices, with health and safety officials citing smoke as a hazard in the basement kitchen. An insider described the situation as mutiny at Good Morning Britain HQ, noting the new setup features a basement kitchen with no windows and that staff will have to bring their own breakfasts.

ITV's daytime line-up is also undergoing a major logistical shift. Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women will relocate from January to a shared studio at London's The H Club Studio in Covent Garden, a former private members' club. The space will host almost 900 hours of live daytime programming a year. The three shows will rotate through one 360-degree studio with LED walls to project different backdrops, and a single gallery will serve all three with rapid turnarounds planned between broadcasts.

Executives stress the changes are primarily about cost savings, but they say the new studio arrangement will offer greater flexibility and make it easier to repurpose the space for other ITV series when needed.

Despite the belt-tightening, ITV remains hopeful that the January return of Love Island All Stars will deliver strong ratings, sustaining a key driver for the network. The company notes that audience appetite for the reality format remains high, even as budgets tighten across the organization.