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I WILL SURVIVE
Quitting I’m A Celebrity broke my heart – but I could still return to show, reveals Olivia Attwood
The Love Island star's stint in the jungle lasted just 24 hours in 2022
OLIVIA Attwood has revealed her premature exit from I’m A Celebrity left her heartbroken - but the door is open for another shot at the jungle crown.
The Love Island star-turned-documentary queen, was forced to withdraw from the hit reality show after just 24 hours in 2022 due to a bout of anaemia - when not enough red blood cells are produced affecting the distribution of oxygen around the body.
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It was a tough blow for Liv, 32, who was an early favourite to go all the way and win the iconic programme.
Since then she’s seen her star rise with a series of big career moves including joining Loose Women and success with her investigative documentaries The Price of Perfection and Getting Filthy Rich.
Now, in an exclusive interview with the Sun on behalf of AliExpress, Olivia has revealed a jungle place is hers when the timing is right.
“I want to obviously at some point do the Jungle properly,” she said. “Like that obviously broke my heart what happened last time. We had the conversation last year, and now it's just kind of come into more of a scheduling issue for me.
“At some point, I want to go and do that from beginning to end the way it was meant to be, and kind of show everyone what I've got, because I know that I've got it in me, like no problem.
“God knows when I'll be able to put that in. Because all these shows obviously take such a big chunk out of your diary, so it's having the flexibility to do them.”
Liv then confirmed ITV has guaranteed her a place on the programme when the schedules do eventually align.
“I mean, that was basically where the last conversation was like: ‘when you're ready, we're ready’.
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“And it's hard. I had to kind of get over it. You had to kind of get over it and be like, ‘okay, I'm ready to kind of go again’.
“It was hard when you're making these other shows and you're committed. I'm committed, you know, to six months in advance.
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“There's teams of people that have a job, they're going to be my producers, the runners and everything. I can't just be like, ‘oh, I'm just going to drop here and, you know, p**s off to Australia for a week’.
The fashion influencer, who is married to Sunderland midfielder Bradley Dack, 30, is also intrigued by a potential stay inside the Big Brother house.
She says: “Big Brother, I was a big fan growing up, and I'm still a big fan. I think the relaunch was great. So, you know, never say never.”
And she’d also love a shot at anchoring Loose Women a bit further down the line having received a stellar education from show stalwarts Coleen Nolan, 59, and Christine Lampard, 45.
“I feel like I learn every day on the show,” says Liv. “I'm surrounded by women who are seasoned journalists, they are broadcasters who have the most impressive CVs."
She continued: "I mean, even being in their company every day, I learn so much. I love to learn so much about the live TV format. I would love to pay my dues to the point where that would be an opportunity.”
I want to go and do that from beginning to end the way it was meant to be,
Olivia Attwood
Though she has more than enough going on at the moment, Olivia also has one eye on a potential move to American television in the years to come.
She grew up in Canada and has an affinity for US TV. Now she has revealed talks have already taken place about screen work across the Atlantic.
“I've had conversations with people who have formats ready to go in the US,” she explains.
The reality star continued: “Again, it's a timing thing. I've had to literally be like, ‘okay, I can't come to the US and do this job tomorrow, but please let you get me, because at some point I would love to explore that’.
“Having said that, I'm not rushing to do that because I'm very happy with the way things are going here. I feel very grateful.
“I couldn't ask for more, and I feel like I'm happy to do what I'm doing, keep proving myself, you know, hopefully get more of that live broadcasting experience under my belt, and then I think things, when they're meant to happen, they'll happen, if that makes sense.
“I love the UK, and I love my audience here, you know, I'm very loyal to them, so yeah, it's been hard to kind of not be tempted to run across and play but I'm staying focused on what I've got in front of me, for the time being.”
GOLDEN GIRL
Last year, Olivia was name-checked by ITV’s Head of Reality TV Paul Mortimer as the future of the channel at The Edinburgh TV Festival.
Her shows’ ratings and career moves to date would back that up, but with that comes pressure to deliver.
However, the only person Olivia feels the heat from is herself.
She says: “I'm always looking at my work and seeing how I can improve it and improve my craft and I'm very ambitious.
“ITV has been a huge support to me and they are the ones that gave me the opportunity and it's your job to go out there and make it work. I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and I was like, ‘I'm going to make this good’.”
FASHION FORWARD
If her TV schedule wasn’t hectic enough, Liv is also exploring her love of fashion thanks to a collaboration with AliExpress and its new It Girls campaign.
The retail marketplace has officially launched live-stream shopping in the UK in a bid to bring shoppers curated selections from fashion trendsetters like Olivia.
Other fashion-savvy stars involved include Love Island’s Kady McDermott, 28, and influencers Summer Botwe, 24, Emma Vacchio, Nina and Diana, Sinead Biddlecombe, 24, and more.
“I feel like one of the draws was obviously coming together to do the live[stream],” says Liv. “I love the idea of doing a live shopping event, because I haven't actually done that before."
The fashionista continued: "But I've always wanted to, and I thought it would be something that would resonate a lot with my audience."
“And I love the fact that anyone can head to the app and make a live[stream] themselves and have this entrepreneurial little side hustle, if they want."
“Affordable, buildable pieces work really well with my audience, and I know that when I looked at the collection and met with AliExpress, and I looked at the pieces, I knew that my followers would be excited by these clothes.”
Since her rise to fame in 2017, Liv’s style selections have changed a lot and are no longer as outlandish or daring. However, that’s not to say they’re no less eye-catching.
She says: “I can't believe I'm saying this, because my style has changed a lot in the last few years, I would say that it's leaning into classic.
“I don't follow trends so much anymore. I'm trying to sort of wear things that are timeless, they're classic, they're buildable. I like block colours, I like oversized blazers, I like having my legs out, you know, but I kind of do legs or boobs.
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“I think it's matured with me, but not in a boring way, I hope.”
For more information or to sign up, visit: www.aliexpress.com/gcp/300001443/AliItGirlChallenge
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