Olivia Attwood opens up on health condition which forced her to leave I'm A Celeb
Olivia Attwood has revealed the health condition which forced her to leave I'm A Celeb after just one day in the jungle.
After she left, host Ant announced that Attwood 'left the jungle for medical reasons' and lots of rumours have been circulating on social media since.
However, in her first interview since leaving, the Love Island finalist has exclusively told the Daily Mail that blood tests revealed that she is 'dangerously' anaemic.
Advert
Attwood said: "I was so scared, 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."
After ITV staff took the 31-year-old on a 40-minute-journey to hospital, she said: "It felt like the longest journey ever.
"I didn't know what to think. I was wondering if I had picked up a virus, was I pregnant, all of these things were going through my head. It was absolutely frightening."
Bizarrely, the second tests came back normal, but rather than returning to the jungle, she said that she was 'taken to a hotel to get some sleep while ITV decided what they would do with me'.
She added: "I tried to keep a hold of my emotions but it started to feel like I wasn't going back, you know when you just get a feeling? It started to dawn on me that I was out for good.
"But then I was trying to rationalise it, there was nothing wrong with me so why wouldn't I be able to? I also knew how much the production team wanted me on the show. None of it was making sense. I was waiting for someone to tell me."
The broadcaster then concluded that they didn't want to take any risks as iron deficiency anaemia can make a person more susceptible to catching an illness.
"They said because of the results the show's medical team got from my readings, they were not happy to sign me off to come back in, even though I had the clean bill of health from the hospital," Attwood said.
"I was absolutely devastated. I'm not a crier but I started to cry, 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.
"Then the show's staff told me everyone liked me and I was favourite to win, so that leaving felt like a punch to the gut.
"Just two days before, I jumped out of a helicopter which I loved. I did a trial which I loved. I was so happy and elated. It was an extreme high to an extreme low. I felt empty."
But while she is disappointed about leaving, Atwood said she has 'some happy memories' of her short time there.
Topics: Im A Celebrity, Celebrity, ITV
Anish Vij