Laura Whitmore says Caroline Flack appreciated her friend stepping in to host \'Love Island\'.
The 34-year-old star took over the role when the late presenter - who tragically took her own life in February age 40 - stood down late last year and admitted she had a lot "to deal with" after being charged with assaulting her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
Speaking on the \'Open Mind with Frankie Bridge\' podcast, she said: "People would say, \'I can\'t believe you\'ve stole someone\'s job.\'
"It\'s so surreal, [I\'m] still navigating through it...
"I\'ve never told anyone this, but one of the last things she told me is that, \'This is probably good that it\'s happened this way as I have a lot of things I need to deal with and work through.\' "
Laura admitted she still hasn\'t come to terms with her friend\'s death, and she was convinced Caroline would make an epic comeback after stepping away from \'Love Island\' last year.
She added: "I remember thinking she\'ll come back with a bang, maybe I was being naive but I didn\'t think it would go the other way. My brain still hasn\'t computed it.
"The decision was made to not talk about \'Love Island\' after the winter series. It\'s weird as there\'s so many ups and downs, there were some wonderful time working on the series."
The Irish host also revealed how she suffered a panic attack after Caroline\'s funeral, which was held on March 10th.
She explained: "I\'ve had panic attacks in the past when dealing with things. A few weeks ago, a day after Caroline\'s funeral, it was the first time I let myself get upset and I was exhausted.
"We weren\'t at the height of COVID-19 yet, but I remember getting on the Tube trying to stand 10 metres away from everyone, and almost having a panic attack as I didn\'t know whether I was sick or exhausted from everything."
