Maya Jama’s ‘brilliant’ Glow up replacement Leomie Anderson gets rave reviews: ‘She’s the right fit’
Posted by  badge Boss on May 03, 2023 - 09:41AM
Leomie Anderson has taken over from Maya Jama (Picture: BBC/Getty)

decided to leave BBC’s and so for the fifth series she has been

The 30-year-old took the reins of the competition, which has also previously been hosted by , whereby amateur makeup artists live and work together while taking part in challenges to prove their skills.

Supermodel Leomie had some big shoes to fill with fan-favourite Maya, but she’s done it effortlessly on her debut episode.

Her hosting talent has been recognised by viewers of the show, who have heaped on the praise.

One viewer wrote: ‘I was sad @MayaJama left but as her career’s gone from strength to strength and @Leomie_Anderson so deserved a presenting platform with her charismatic effervescence I guess it’s an all-round happy ending!’

They are not wrong – Maya, 28, is now hosting Love Island.

‘I didn’t know @Leomie_Anderson well enough to know how she’d handle presenting, but she’s doing well on this first outing.

Leomie has taken the reins of the TV show (Picture: BBC)
Maya was the previous host of the show (Picture: BBC/Wall To Wall/ Dave King)

‘Seeing her instinctively push back on one competitor describe their own salon work as generic tells me she’s the right fit for the show,’ added another.

Leomie appreciated the encouragement and responded with: ‘Thank you for this! Had big shoes to fill but hope you enjoy what I bring to the series.’

A third person tweeted: ‘Brava to the new host.’

Another simply put: ‘How good is @Leomie_Anderson? Brilliant in my opinion!’

Leomie, who is joined on the show by experts Val Garland and Dominic Skinner, has spoken about feeling excluded from the beauty space ahead of her debut episode.

‘Growing up, I didn’t think make-up was made for black girls. In the fashion industry, this was just reiterated to me in a different way,’ Leomie explained to

She recalled having to bring her own ‘basic kit’ to jobs as the crew would often not have her shade.

‘I was othered. It made me feel like an afterthought.’

This has meant that the new hosting gig is even more important to her: ‘I know the impact of having make-up on that doesn’t make you feel the best. So, this is a big moment for me.’

Glow Up airs every Tuesday at 8pm on BBC Three, and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer on Wednesday mornings.