Why did Olivia Attwood leave I’m a Celebrity?

Olivia Attwood left ITV show just a day into the 2022 series

Olivia Attwood shocked viewers when she quit I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! just one day into the new series.

It was initially revealed that the TV personality was forced to withdraw from the reality show due to a medical matter.

ITV confirmed the news to The Independent, stating that the former Love Island star left the series “as a precautionary measure” in order to “undergo some medical checks”.

A spokesperson said: “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.”

The team running Attwood’s Instagram page wrote on Monday 7 November that the public would soon learn the reason for her exit.

“To say Olivia is heartbroken would be an understatement, she dreamed of doing I’m A Celeb for years, and was absolutely loving every second of the show and throwing herself into jungle life feet first (just as we knew she would),” they wrote.

“However, for reasons beyond her control her journey has been cut short. Your support and kind words have meant the absolute world to her, now as much as it always has. You will hear the truth from Olivia in due course.”

Attwood had been shown entering the Australian jungle in the launch show, which aired on Sunday, 6 November.

She was voted jungle VIP alongside radio DJ Chris Moyles after parachuting out of a helicopter.

Attwood was the first ever ex-Love Island contestant to appear on the series, which is back in Australia for the first time since 2019.

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Olivia Attwood has quit ‘I’m a Celebrity’ (ITV)

Almost week later, Attwood gave a tell-all interview to reveal the reason she had quit the show.

She told The Mail on Sunday that a routine blood test, which all the jungle campmates undergo randomly throughout the show, disclosed that she was dangerously anaemic.

It also showed concerningly low sodium and potassium levels, which prompted ITV staff to take Attwood to A&E, despite the star maintaining she felt “absolutely fine”.

“I was so scared,” she said. “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.

“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. I was confused and, of course, very, very worried.”

Attwood said the 40-minute drive to A&E “felt like the longest journey ever”, adding: “I didn’t know what to think. I was wondering if I had picked up a virus, if I was pregnant – all of these things were going through my head. It was absolutely frightening.”

In the interview, Attwood said she hadn’t yet discussed her fee with ITV. She was reportedly due to be paid between £100,000 and £125,000 to appear on the show.