When we join Olivia Attwood on a video call, she is sitting on her bedroom floor having just flown back from Tenerife, where she has been filming the second series of her reality show Bad Boyfriends.
The 34 year old apologises for ‘looking worse for wear’ – despite looking better than we ever will – and admits ‘it’s crazy here today’.
heat notes how ‘crazy’ life in general must be for the former Love Island star. Not only has she been Canary-island hopping to film the show, she’s also promoting the second series of her beauty documentary The Price Of Perfection, and is deep in research for a third series of her other docuseries Getting Filthy Rich.
If that wasn’t enough, Liv – who married footballer Bradley Dack, 31, in 2023 – is juggling all this while being a regular Loose Women panellist, hosting a Kiss radio show with pal Pete Wicks and fronting no less than three podcasts.
Here, she tells us just how she manages to do it all…
You seem to be the busiest person in showbiz. How do you manage to keep on top of things?
I don’t! No, I’m ridiculously organised. From the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed, every hour of my day is scheduled. I’ve got a great team of people around me, I’ve got a very supportive husband, and I don’t have any kids!
Is it hard to focus on one project at a time?
It does get confusing. If I have a day where I’m on Loose Women, I’ll be researching the guest, then I’m travelling to the studio to record a podcast, and I’ve got to research that guest. On the day, my brain’s like, ‘I need to remember which information was for which person.’ I try to be really present at each job. I find my work really enjoyable and fun, so it’s not a challenge – it never feels like a chore to me.
Do you find it hard to be ‘on’ all the time?
I’m human, I get fatigued like anyone else working any job. But no matter how tired I feel, whenever I’m in front of the camera, there is another gear that just clicks on. It never feels hard, that’s when I feel the most at home. I feel very lucky to do this job.
Does the job ever get lonely with all the travelling you do?
I’m too busy to be lonely. I think I crave loneliness, because I’m never alone. When I put my head on the pillow at night, that’s the only time I’m truly alone. I think loneliness is something that sounds quite appealing.
You and Brad are both so busy – how do you make sure that you’re finding time for each other?
It’s difficult, I’m not going to lie. We’ve just had a nice few weeks – he came out to visit me on set. We’ll have a little holiday together in a couple of weeks. When we are together, we make that time valuable, which I think you end up doing more when you get less time together, because you know you can’t takeit for granted.
The Price Of Perfection is back. What is it about surgeries and beauty treatments that intrigues you?
I’ve always been really interested in aesthetics, and on some level, I wish I was the doctor. Getting to go into surgery and see all this stuff is such a privilege, I feel very grateful. There was a massive gap in the market for a show that gave people information about these treatments without trying to lecture them. I’m not telling anyone they shouldn’t do it, because I’ve done stuff myself.
Would you consider training to be a surgeon or aesthetics provider?
No, because I really believe that medical treatment should be carried out by a proper doctor and that’s probably a little bit out of my intellectual remit – and eight or nine years that I don’t have to go and train. Maybe in another lifetime! I don’t agree with people doing two-day courses and then being able to inject people.
Has this show put you off having more work done or has it made you want to have more?
Oh, I’ve thought of everything! I think it has made me more careful, because – as much as I do research things – once you’re put to sleep, you’re unaware of what is going on. Being on the other side of things was an awakening, because it made me understand these procedures are major surgeries. We like to minimise the scale, because it may only take an hour and you recover in a few days, but you’re putting your body through a lot. It’s made me consider what I have put my body through.
You cover the weight-loss jab craze in the new series. Did you learn anything that surprised you?
As someone who hasn’t struggled with my weight, I was naïve to the effect it can have on people. I guess when you’ve never had any problems ‘keeping it off’, it’s not something that consumed much headspace for me. But it has given me more understanding about how something like Ozempic worked. I thought it made you lose weight, but actually it just kills your appetite. So, understanding how those drugs work – how they’re administered, who can get it and from where – was a complete education.
There’s a trend of people who aren’t overweight taking it. Had you ever been tempted?
I’ve spent my whole life trying to get more curves, so weight loss has never been a goal of mine. But there’s definitely a trend of people abusing the medication and putting themselves at risk. For some people, it can be life-changing, but for other people, it’s just not necessary.
You speak to Lottie Moss – she was hospitalised for taking Ozempic when she didn’t need to…
She was incredibly brave to have such a transparent talk with us, I think she knows that there’s going to be a lot of judgement. She’s the voice of a lot of young women who don’t need to do anything in regard to their weight but feel like they do. She’s grown up in the spotlight, she’s got a supermodel sister – there’s a lot of factors that motivated her to resort to extreme methods, and she suffered the consequences. Her story is an important one and I’m glad that she felt she could share it with me.
Are Botox and fillers more socially acceptable than weight-loss jobs?
It’s probably a timeline thing. Botox and filler have been around for a lot longer. It’s pretty hard for someone to deny having Botox – just ask them to frown, and when they can’t, it’s obvious they’ve had it. The goalposts of weight loss jabs are not as black and white. It’s the same as people who had liposuction and then sold workout DVDs. I think people who use weight-loss aids are completely within their right to do so, but don’t try to con people by saying, ‘I dropped this weight in two weeks by drinking this shake’. That’s really dishonest and actually quite cruel.
What do you think about celebs who keep having work done?
I have a huge amount of sympathy for someone who is constantly changing their appearance. I think that person is really unhappy, and rather than judging someone, we should give them space to go through what they’re going through. There’s such a bizarre double standard with celebrities, because when they don’t look good or slim, people are so quick to go, ‘Oh my God, they’re aging,’ or, ‘They’ve put on weight.’ But if that same person has a facelift, everyone goes, ‘Oh my God, they look like a freak.’ If you’re in the public eye, you are not going to please everyone. I think, as best as you can, you have to try to rationalise what makes you feel good and realise that what other people think of you is not your business. But it’s way easier said than done. Kim Kardashian was at the Met Gala the other week and people have condemned this woman for having too much surgery. Then I saw a flood of TikToks with people saying she had some slack skin on her neck, and you wonder why people like her are constantly doing things. It’s very hypocritical.
You’ve come under fire for your frank comments on social media – does the reaction ever surprise you?
I try to be unapologetically myself and behave the same way online as I would with my friends. Some people will find it hilarious and others won’t. Unless you want to be completely vanilla and never have an opinion, then you just have to lean into it. It’s part of my USP, so I’ve made a conscious effort to never lose that.
We have to speak about the Labubu craze that you seem to have kickstarted – what is it about them that you love so much?
They’ve been taken out of UK stores and people are messaging me going, 'What have you done?' This is never what it was meant to be about! They’re meant to spread joy, and people are fighting in the streets for them, it’s crazy. Look, I just think they're adorable. It was a lot of fun that started innocently, but now I feel like a spokesperson. I don’t know what happened. I think anything that sparks joy in such a serious world is a good thing.
Do you never see your one in the dark and get creeped out?
No! Stitch is my favourite Disney character, and my Rottweiler is named Stitch, because she has this big mouth with teeth, and I think Labubus remind me of that. That’s why I like them so much, they’re so cute. Do you remember those naked little toys with the coloured hair [Trolls]? I had them, I had all the Furbies – I’ve always had a thing for weird little creatures.
Olivia Attwood: The Price Of Perfection starts 12 June on ITV2 and ITVX