There’s major question marks surrounding Olivia Attwood’s exit from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.
On Tuesday night, The Sun claimed the Love Island star was forced to quit the show due to strict Covid rules.
According to their insiders, Olivia wanted to return to camp after leaving to deal with a medical issue – but bosses wouldn’t allow her.
The newspaper reported that bosses feared she could potentially infect the other contestants with the virus.
And for Olivia to be allowed back into camp, she would have had to complete another week’s isolation.
A TV insider said: “It was felt this would be too much time to spend away from the competition and potentially place her campmates at a disadvantage to her.”
“Obviously viewers at home couldn’t include her in any votes, including selecting them for different challenges during the series.”
“Olivia would have been going back in almost halfway through the series, which simply wasn’t fair.”
“As frustrating and upsetting as that was for Olivia, who was willing to do whatever it took to go back, she could also see it was an impossible situation,” the source added.
While sources have blamed Covid rules for her exit, a friend has told MailOnline that this had nothing to do with her departure.
A pal said: “It was unrelated to Covid. Olivia will talk about it herself when she’s ready but right now she’s just focused on getting back home.”
Olivia’s close friend Georgia Harrison raised even more eyebrows about her departure after she claimed she hasn’t heard from her.
“To not know . . . it’s a bit scary. She just disappeared — one minute she was there and one minute she was gone. It is one of the strangest situations I have ever seen unfold on television,” she said.
“I haven’t heard from her, which I thought was quite surprising as we are close. But I don’t know what she is going through, she might just need a bit of time to take in what has happened.”
“Maybe she just doesn’t want to speak to anyone. Sometimes when you are down, you just want to shut everyone out for a bit.”
“I have sent her loads of messages and her messages are delivering to her phone. Some of the other girls in our group have messaged her too.
“None of us know anything. Her boyfriend Bradley told one of the other girls she was fine, and that is the only thing we know.”
When Goss.ie contacted ITV for a comment regarding the story about Covid rules, a spokesperson reiterated the following statement.
“As a precautionary measure Olivia needed to leave the jungle to undergo medical checks,” they said.
“Unfortunately, the medical team has advised that 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.”
It’s understood the 31-year-old has already jetted back to the UK from Australia, where she’s been reunited with her fiancé Bradley Dack.
The news comes after Olivia’s family released a statement on her behalf on Monday.
They wrote: “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).”
“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 and she will be back on your screens in the New Year,” they added.
Olivia shot to fame on the 2017 series of Love Island, and made history as the first ever Love Island star to appear on I’m A Celeb.
Since her exit was confirmed by ITV, many fans have admitted they’re “gutted” she’s been forced to quit the programme.
Viewers had already tipped her to win the show, and were looking forward to seeing her face off against Matt Hancock – who will enter camp during tonight’s episode.
