Olivia Attwood has broken her silence and has finally spoken out on the reason why she was forced to leave the I’m a Celebrity jungle.
The reality TV personality and influencer – who is most well-known for appearing as a contestant on the third series of the hit ITV show Love Island back in 2017 – was confirmed as heading into the jungle for the 2022 series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, but only ended up making an appearance on the first episode of the show.
Audiences got to watch Attwood participate in the show’s initial campmate entrance challenge, as she took on a daring skydive.
But that was the last time she appeared on screen.
ITV announced that Attwood had withdrawn from the show after just 24-hours, and had been removed from the jungle on “medical grounds” – with her representative explaining in a statement released at the time: “As a precautionary measure Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo some medical checks.
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“Unfortunately, the medical team has advised it is not safe for Olivia to return to camp as there needs to be further investigation.
“She has been absolutely brilliant and she’ll be very much missed on the show.”
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Olivia Attwood reveals the reason she was forced to leave the I’m a Celebrity jungle / Credit: ITV
Despite this initial acknowledgement that she had been told to leave on “medical grounds”, Attwood was yet to speak on or publicly reveal the actual medical reason she had been removed from the jungle – until now.
In an exclusive interview with the MailOnline, Attwood explained that a routine blood test taken by the show’s medical staff revealed that she was “dangerously anaemic” – which is a fact that she said shocked her considering she was “feeling fine” despite being rushed to hospital.
Attwood described the whole ordeal as “scary”.
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“I was like: ‘What the hell is wrong with me?’ They couldn’t give me an answer, they just told me that they had to get me to the hospital immediately,” she told the MailOnline.
“The results were really, really low when they put them into their reader, and they consulted with another doctor off site. I had those bloods done in England before I left, and they were fine, so I was confused and of course very, very worried.”
The reality TV star and influencer has broken her silence after being removed on “medical grounds” / Credit: ITV
As well as anaemia, the medical tests also showed that Attwood has low levels of both sodium and potassium, so ITV staff decided to take the safe option and not allow her back into the jungle – which she said left her “absolutely devastated” and was like “a punch in the gut”.
“It was so emotional. I was heartbroken and gutted. I tried to keep my emotions in check and keep it in perspective, things could be so much worse,” she added.
Nevertheless, Attwood admitted that she “loved” her short stint on the show.
Featured Image – ITV
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Peter Kay adds MORE hometown charity gigs in aid of Bolton Hospice
Danny Jones
Local comedy icon Peter Kay has added even more homecoming charity gigs, adding some extra shows at the historic Albert Halls.
You can guarantee these tickets will be snapped up quicker than you can say garlic bread.
Performing on behalf of his hometown’s Bolton Hospice, the Lancashire legend and stand-up veteran might be winding down his hugely successful career on stage, but not before raising as much money for charity as possible.
Confirmed on Monday, 13 July, a further four ‘Peter Kay: Better Late Than Never (Again!)’ dates have been tacked on the regional tour run – but there’s a catch.
Yes, in case you missed the initial announcement back in April, the 53-year-old from Farnworth is only catering to his native Boltonians.
With seats being made exclusive to those with specific postcodes only – after all, his previous record-breaking tour saw people all over the country treated to plenty of dates – this latest update gives them even more of a chance of getting tickets.
Speaking ahead of the sets scheduled for early next year, Peter says, “There was such a big demand for tickets for the shows that I really want to do more and give the people who missed out the chance to come along.”
If you want to check if you’re eligible to grab one, you can read more down below.
The Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy creator goes on to add: “I’m putting on four more shows in the New Year and playing at the weekend means I can also perform matinees, as well as evening shows and increase funds for the hospice, which is what it’s all about.”
Kay has already raised huge sums for various charities throughout his career, and with all proceeds from these upcoming performances going to the organisation, these funds can make such a difference in so many lives.
Adding matinee and evening slots on Saturday and Sunday, 9-10 January 2027 (3:30 and 7:30pm), respectively, the quartet of additional comedy shows go on sale at 10am this Friday, 17 July.
A Wigan dad is searching for the ‘hero’ who helped calm his son’s panic attack while on a busy train
Emily Sergeant
A former rugby player from Wigan is searching for the ‘hero’ who came to his son’s aid when he was having a panic attack on a busy train.
Shaun Ainscough – a former rugby player who played for Wigan Warriors at the start of his career from 2009-10 – was on a packed train home from the match between his former team and St Helens at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday 5 July when his son started having a panic attack.
The 11-year-old boy was crying, screaming, shaking, taking his clothes off, and begging to get off the hot train carriage that was full of people travelling home from the match.
“All the fans [on the train] were singing and we were having a laugh, although because we were all stood up, we literally couldn’t sit anywhere,” Shaun explained to the BBC in an interview.
Shaun says he then became overwhelmed with emotion himself as he saw his son in distress, to the point where he also started crying.
But then, a woman – whose name is still unknown – came to the rescue and spent the entire rest of the journey trying to calm the boy, reassuring him with words and using a handheld fan to calm him down.
Shaun has since put out a post on social media – which has been seen by thousands of people – asking for the woman to come forward, as the pair are desperate to thank her in person and ‘give her some flowers’.
“It might not have seemed like a big deal to her but the small act was massive and we just want to say thank you,” Shaun explained.
“She could read something over text, but in person means so much more, and maybe we could give her some flowers just to show how much we appreciated her that day.”
He concluded: “This hero came over and ended up being the strongest person on the train.”