Maya Jama was a born entertainer, says estranged dad

Maya Jama’s estranged father thinks she’s a “born entertainer”.

The 26-year-old TV star has shot to stardom over recent years, and her dad Hussein – who hasn’t spoken to Maya since 2017 – believes she was always destined for big things.

He shared: “I remember when she was tiny and would say, ‘I’m going to be on TV one day’. We never doubted her because she was a born entertainer.

“From the age of two she would be singing on the bus to entertain all the other passengers.

“In the park, if there was a brass band playing, she would dance in the middle until everyone applauded.

“She did her first catwalk show for her mum’s friend when she was two and she loved being the centre of attention. She used to give my sister fashion tips and tell her what to wear and we just had to laugh.

“The girl could talk when she was a year old and have full-on conversations with you.”

Hussein has spent time in and out of jail from the age of 17, and he admits that Maya eventually lost patience with him.

The 52-year-old bar worker – who is now desperate to reconnect with his daughter – told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Maya just got fed up with visiting her dad in jail.

“When she was in secondary school she would go to her friend’s house and see their dad sitting at the dining table, but she had to drive three hours to see me.

“She would say, ‘It’s not normal. Who has to go and see their dad in jail every other weekend?’.

“I remember when she was a teenager, I had just come out of prison and she was round at my mum’s house so I popped in and said, ‘Do you want to give your dad a hug?’ She said, ‘I don’t want to talk to you, Dad’. I hoped it was a teenage thing and it would pass.”