Olivia Attwood said being a motorsport grid girl “saved her life” as she reflected on her career after landing her latest presenting role.
The 33-year-old TV personality, who rose to fame on ITV2’s 2017 series of Love Island, has made the transition from dating show contestant to TV presenter and recently landed a presenting job on ITV hosting a new dating series.
She now presents documentaries, hosts her own podcast, So Wrong It’s Right, and has become a regular panellist on Loose Women. She has come a long way since “living out of a suitcase” while working for Monster Energy.
Olivia began her career as a girl at age 19, a job she now admits “changed” everything.
In 2018, female grid drivers were axed from Formula One as motorsport followed the trend within darts of getting rid of glamorous women because it does not fit with its “brand values”.
Olivia Attwood said being a motorsport grid girl “saved her life” as she reflected on her career after landing her latest presenting role.
The 33-year-old TV personality, who rose to fame on ITV2’s 2017 series of Love Island, began her career as a beauty girl aged 19 – a job she now admits “changed” everything.
Speaking in an interview with The Sunday TimesShe explained: ‘That job saved my life. I travelled the world, it gave me discipline, I met amazing people, so for me it would be quite sad to think that someone else wouldn’t have that opportunity.
“Once I decided what I wanted to do, I focused on it relentlessly. Every decision I made in the last five years was about the bigger picture.
“There will always be someone prettier than you, someone smarter than you or whatever, but I can outperform anyone.”
This year, Olivia landed a job as a presenter on ITV’s new dating series, MailOnline revealed in May.
The former Love Island star is currently filming the show in Greece, which features couples who are experiencing problems in their relationships due to bad behaviour from men, with Olivia helping them change their ways.
In November, MailOnline revealed she had been offered a six-figure deal to star in the series, which has been tipped to be the next big hit since Love Island.
A TV source revealed: ‘Olivia is over the moon, she could never have predicted that after starring on Love Island as a contestant she would one day host her own dating series.
‘He’s working with a full cast and filming has already started in Greece. So far he’s enjoying every second of it.’
She went from dating show contestant to TV presenter and recently landed a presenting job with ITV hosting a new dating series (pictured on Love Island in 2017).
She now presents documentaries, hosts her own podcast and has become a regular guest on Loose Women. She has come a long way since working for Monster Energy.
They added: “It’s a dream come true for her and she can’t wait for viewers to fall in love with the format and hopefully enjoy watching the show as much as she did filming it.”
Confirming the news on Instagram, Olivia wrote: ‘Guys… I’ve been keeping a secret. Behind the scenes of my new ITV reality show, you guys aren’t ready (I actually don’t think I am).
Olivia shared some behind-the-scenes photos from her first few days of filming, complete with camera crew and sunny shots of Greece.
The documentary maker, who married footballer Bradley Dack last year, found fame on Love Island in 2017 and has continued to thrive in television roles.
From reality shows TOWIE and Celebs Go Dating to starring in her own documentary series Filthy Rich, Olivia has built up her own fan base of 2.2 million.
Developing her skills as an interviewer, Olivia launched her podcast this year and welcomed guests including Spice Girl Mel B, Rylan and close friend Georgia Harrison, fresh from Love Island: All Stars.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, he explained: “That job saved my life. I travelled the world, it gave me discipline and I met some amazing people.”
This year, Olivia landed a presenting job at ITV hosting a new dating series, MailOnline revealed in May.
She became the first former islander to land a spot on ITV’s I’m A Celeb, jetting off to the Australian jungle in 2022.
Her experience was short-lived as she was forced to leave the show after 24 hours due to medical and insurance reasons, leaving her “heartbroken”.
Olivia was unable to return to camp after the results of a routine medical test showed she had “dangerously low potassium levels.”
There was speculation that she might return to the series last year, but MailOnline confirmed that due to her commitments to future TV projects, including filming her new reality series, she would not be able to join the 2023 line-up.