Love Island host Laura Whitmore has revealed that she is still struggling to cope with the death of her close friend and colleague Caroline Flack.
The 40-year-old committed suicide in February as she awaited trial for allegations of assaulting her boyfriend - charges that both of them had denied.
Whitmore had already taken the Love Island baton from Flack on a temporary basis at the time she died, with her friend's full blessing.
"I'm still working through the grief of Caroline Flack's passing," Whitmore told The Times. "The past six months are a blur. I haven't fully coped with it. I don't think I ever will.
"Caroline was very good to me. Before I even got offered Love Island, she messaged me saying, 'I really hope you get the job.'
"I love doing it, but the circumstances of being offered it were the worst you could possibly imagine."
This summer's edition of Love Island was cancelled due to coronavirus but the show is expected to return in 2021 with a "bumper" new series.
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