ITV This Morning host defends Olivia Attwood amid furious backlash to presenting role
Josie Gibson has fiercely defended reality TV star Olivia Attwood after she bagged a summer presenting gig on ITV’s This Morning.
The former Love Island star, 34, announced the casting back in June, and will be filling in over the summer for series regulars Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd.
Gibson, 40, who also has a reality TV background, has defended the TV personality against doubters who favour more traditional television, after Attwood clapped back at online trolls, insisting “there’s so much more to me”.
The series regular defended her new co-star, telling The Sun that Olivia is “brilliant” in the role, and that she loves seeing people succeed.
She said: “Oh my God she’s brilliant. It’s brilliant she gets to do this, and I think she’s really good. Yeah, really good.
“Honestly, you get some backlash like that in this industry and I really don’t know why people do it.”
The presenter added: “I’ll never understand why people do it, you know. To me, I’ve always loved to see people do well and I genuinely love it.
“I love it when people succeed and I want to bring everybody up and make sure everybody has a go on the horses, do you know what I mean? I think Olivia is brilliant in the role.”
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The reality TV star-turned-presenter announced she’d landed the prized gig on the This Morning sofa in June, however the reaction to her appointment was mixed.
Some viewers doubted her suitability for the role and threatened to “definitely stop watching” if the islander set foot into the studio.
Attwood addressed the nay-sayers directly, saying: “Those who know me understand the hard work I’ve put in to get where I am today,” she said, emphasising her determination to succeed in the new position.
The backlash emerged immediately after ITV announced Attwood would join the summer presenting roster.
Some viewers expressed scepticism about the appointment, whilst others insisted they would boycott the programme entirely.
However, after her first show last week, viewers changed their tune, praising Attwood for her on-screen presence and even saying she made Dermott look like an amateur in comparison.
Viewers flocked to X last week after her first show aired and showered the debut presenter with praise.
“Love to see Olivia is presenting on #thismorning great addition!”, one user said, another added: “Loving Olivia on the show, such a breath of fresh air!!”
A third chimed in saying: “Tbh I like Olivia, there are way more insufferable people than her and at least her documentaries aren’t just a reality show all about me me me #thismorning.”
After Attwood’s stint on Love Island in 2017, she bagged several top roles with ITV, including fronting top ITV documentaries and becoming a regular on Loose Women.
“I’m forever grateful to Love Island for being the springboard to my career, but I’m excited to show there’s so much more to me beyond the villa,” she previously told The Sun in response to the backlash.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, but I’ve always stayed focused on my goals and believed in myself and I’m very thankful for ITV in believing me,” she said.
The star has since appeared in The Only Way Is Essex, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, and also presented her own programmes, including Bad Boyfriends, Getting Filthy Rich and The Price Of Perfection.
Attwood will join other summer hosts, including Sian Welby, Dermot O’Leary, Emma Willis, Josie Gibson, Rochelle Humes, Joel Dommett, Craig Doyle, and Andi Peters.