Olivia Attwood has said that her footballer boyfriend Bradley Dack will not star alongside her when she debuts in The Only Way Is Essex, because it would be “unprofessional”.
The former Love Island and Celebs Go Dating star is joining the cast of the ITVBe reality show for its landmark 25th series.
Attwood, 28, said Blackburn Rovers midfielder Dack, 25, had also decided to avoid the show because he disliked the “drama”.
No want makes an entrance like @oliviajade_att 🔥Just wait and see more on Sunday 🙌🙌🙌@ITVBe pic.twitter.com/ixFkyIHSnr
— Only Way is Essex (@OnlyWayIsEssex) August 30, 2019
Speaking at the series launch in London, she told PA news agency that their relationship was “better than ever”.
She said: “He’s not going to be an essential part of the series because obviously in his job as a footballer that would be unprofessional of him.
“There’s certain limitations on him of what he can and can’t do in those areas.
“And also, he doesn’t like drama. He is the one that mellows me out.
“You might see me and him going for lunch or whatever, but he won’t be in the thick of the drama which is better. It’s for the best.”
The reality TV star, who came third in Love Island in 2017 along with her ex-boyfriend Chris Hughes, is close friends with Towie star Chloe Tims.
However, since filming began she has been getting on well with model and businessman Pete Wicks, who has dated both Megan McKenna and Shelby Tribble from the show.
Attwood said she had “hit it off straight away” with Wicks and that the pair had “very similar personalities”.
She added: “I’ve never done a show where the drama happens and it comes to the screen so quickly. So that’s different but an exciting different.
“Other shows I’ve done – like Love Island and Celebs Go Dating – that was like weeks or months later.
“So it’s quite nice that people get to react with us to what’s happened.”
The Guildford-raised star also joked that she had been preparing for Towie since she left the Love Island villa, saying: “The last two years have been my preparation.”
Towie is celebrating 25 series with a refreshed line-up including newcomers Jayden Beales and Kelsey Stratford.
Gemma Collins will also return to cameo in the series after her attention-grabbing stint as a contestant on Dancing On Ice.
Towie returns to ITVBe on Sunday at 9pm.