OLIVIA Attwood’s departure from I’m A Celeb has left devastated staff in “floods of tears”, The Sun can reveal.
The 31-year-old was seen as the “shining star of camp” – but her journey was cut surprisingly short after she was withdrawn on medical grounds.
Now ITV bosses are pulling out all the stops to comfort the reality star – whose exit has sparked fury from fans.
But Olivia’s departure hasn’t impacted ratings, with the series’ all-star line-up proving a hit.
The show’s average audience was 9.1 million, a whole million more than last year’s launch, making it ITV’s highest rated show of 2022.
Medics refused to let her back into camp following a medical drama overnight – forcing Olivia to fly back from Australia.
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Now insiders say they’ll do “whatever it takes” to stop Olivia jumping ship from ITV to its rival channel BBC for future opportunities.
A source close to Olivia’s family told The Sun: “She has been given major VIP treatment from ITV including flying her home 1st class, whisking her out of London Heathrow through the private Windsor Suite to a 5 star hotel to have talks with her team.
“Staff have been in floods of tears in Oz as they were so desperate to keep her and are devastated she’s gone.
“They know she was the shining star of camp and it’s uncomfortable that fans are calling for her return.
“She was their big female signing and there is a real gap in the camp now.
“They are in crisis talks over what to do with the camp now as it feels lacklustre.
“They have huge plans for her in 2023 and don’t want to lose her to the BBC who have swooped in with presenting opps.
“But bosses will do anything to stop her from taking projects elsewhere.”
Shocked fans have so far been kept in the dark about why she quit the show.
Her rep said last night in a cryptic message: “You will hear the truth from Olivia in due course.”
Hosts Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly confirmed Olivia would not be returning to the jungle, but failed to give viewers a reason.
Dec said: “You may have seen that unfortunately Olivia Attwood has left the jungle for medical reasons and sadly won’t be returning.”
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Ant continued: “She does feature in [yesterday’s] show, which was filmed before she had to leave.
“We’re very sad to see her go and we wish her well.”
