Maya Jama is rooting for Scotland to do well at Euro 2020, saying: “They have a special place in my heart”.
The 26-year-old, from Bristol, is TV’s hottest property right now, following the likes of Davina McCall and Emma Willis.
And while she was born in England and is hoping they do well in Euro 2020, she’s also got a soft spot for Scotland and is backing them to win their first game today against the Czech Republic at Hampden.
The presenter, who is teaming up with Peter Crouch and Alex Horne for new BBC One series Crouchy’s Year Late Euros: Live, said: “My grandad is from Dollar in Scotland and they have a special place in my heart, so I’d really like Scotland to do well.”
Her new programme, which started on Friday, goes live after all the big matches with celebrity guests and the chance to pick apart the games we’ve just watched.
Like most people in the UK, the England vs Scotland game will be the one to watch in the group stages and Crouchy’s Year Late Euros will be on this Friday right after the big game. While she won’t offer a scoreline, the presenter – who caused a stir last year posing in a Rangers top bought by pals and saying they were now her “Scottish team” – said: “I don’t know but I’m excited to see what happens.
“I feel like we are very passionate – the English and the Scottish – so either way, it’s going to be a performance and it’s going to be rowdy.”
She hopes the aftermath of the Scotland and England crunch game won’t be too bad tempered, claiming the show is meant to create an environment where fans “can have a bit of fun” rather than take pot-shots at each other.
And while the home nations have to battle with 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia and the Czech Republic in Group D, Maya is hedging her bets with a third team she wants to do well – Sweden, who are in Group E.
She said: “Not many people know but I am half Swedish and I root for them very, very hard.
Maya is of Somalian and Swedish decent. She suffered racist abuse growing up in Bristol and tried to pretend her dad wasn’t from Somalia to try to fit in.
But the teachers got wind of it and told her mum.
She said: “When she and my aunties from the Somali side of the family asked me why, I was just like, ‘The boys were saying horrible things about it’, but after having a proper chat with them, I realised it’s something to be proud of. I went back to school all guns blazing like, ‘This is me and this is where I’m from’.”
At 16, Maya’s boyfriend was murdered in Bristol during a gang shooting and she fled her hometown to London in 2011.
It wasn’t the only family drama she’s had – for most of her childhood, her dad was in jail for violent crimes which she explored in Channel 5 documentary When Dad Kills: Murderer in the Family. But he did inspire her life-long love of football.
She said: “My dad used to take me and my brother to Bristol Rovers games when I was younger.
“There was one year when we went to Wembley for a play-off final. It was a really emotional moment. I have such a strong memory of dressing up, wearing the flag, getting on the train, singing all the songs. It was ace.”
She claimed the death of her boyfriend at such a young age gave her a “fearless approach” and she’s certainly shown an ambitious drive.
As well as racking up 2.2million Instagram followers, she was a Radio 1 presenter, has been a Loose Women panellist, and presented shows like The Circle and Cannonball while co-hosting the Mobos.
This year alone, she presented the third series of Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star, became a team captain on Celebrity Juice and was a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
This week it was announced she was joining hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alex Scott as a pitch-side pundit on Soccer Aid 2021, which will be screened in September.
She is the latest in a line of female presenters who suddenly became top of the list for TV shows. In the past, it’s been Carol Vorderman, Davina McCall, Holly Willoughby and Emma Willis.
Maya, who had a long-term relationship with rapper Stormzy until 2019, said: “When- ever someone from my world is new on TV, people start to complain that they’re everywhere.
“But there’s been similar faces on TV for years and nobody says anything. People say, ‘She’s everywhere’, like it’s a bad thing but, actually, it’s my job to be everywhere.”
She had been due to present an award at the British Academy Television Awards last Sunday but had to pull out because of food poisoning from gone-off sushi, which she claimed was “hell”.
Last year, she teamed up with Crouch for panel game show Save Our Summer during the Covid lockdown.
It was such a hit, they have teamed up again for Crouchy’s Year Late Euros.
And while the ex-footballer may have his name above the door, Maya sees herself as the “anchor” of the show keeping everything ticking along.
She said: “It is a year late but we are so, so happy and over the moon that we can actually do a live show, in a studio, right on the doorstep of Wembley Stadium straight after some of the biggest games – we’ll be getting all the vibes.
“Football is about so much more than just kicking a ball around, it is people’s lives and dreams and hopes.
“The Euros are going to be massive.”
She and Peter have a lot of chemistry and she has a lot of time for the former England player.
She said: “He is loveliest, normal man, he feels like your mate from next door, even though he is a superstar.”
There will be lots of guests on the new show.
And Maya already has her wishlist.
She said: “We’re supporting all the home nations, so a hero from each of those would be awesome.
“So Tom Jones for Wales, the Gallagher brothers from England and Gordon Ramsay representing Scotland would be an absolute dream.”
