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Olivia Attwood has revealed she feared the contestants would walk out of her new dating show Bad Boyfriends after the men were lured to Greece by ITV under false pretences.
The former Love Island star, 33, is the host of her first ever dating show which airs on Sunday.
Olivia told MailOnline that having her at the helm of the show works because ‘she loves airing her dirty laundry’ and her honesty about her previous relationships allows viewers to relate.
Eight unsuspecting boyfriends – from serial cheaters, lazy lovers, commitment, phones and man-children – are flown out to a Greek Island under the premise of filming a series about manhood and bromance on a lads’ holiday.
But their girlfriends make a shock arrival after which Olivia announces their wild partying days are on hold to reveal they are on a show designed to whip them into better boyfriend shape.
Olivia Attwood has revealed she feared the contestants would walk out of her new dating show Bad Boyfriends after the men were lured to Greece by ITV under false pretences
The former Love Island star is the host of her first ever dating show which airs on Sunday
But speaking to MailOnline, Olivia said she could not sleep before the show for fear the sting would result in all the boyfriends angrily leaving the show.
She said: ‘It was like a military operation getting this off the ground. It took a year in the planning of consenting and NDAs and all the rest of it.
‘And, you know, at the end of the day, you can’t make anyone do anything. So there was a really real chance that we could have revealed the real show and lost every one.
‘That was a conversation that was had many times. And the night before I went in, I didn’t sleep at all.’
A huge welfare and production team were hired by ITV to ensure the show went ahead as its format harps back to the ‘old school reality television format’ of handheld cameras and arguments on the driveway of the villa.
Across 11 episodes, the boys will compete in a series of challenges, designed to rectify their ways and battle it out to become the most improved boyfriend.
Olivia continued: ‘I was watching them for the first two days from the gallery and they had no idea I was there. So I’m watching them have the time of their lives and getting really stuck in.
‘And I’m thinking the more fun they’re having, the more I’m thinking this is going to absolutely go down like a s*** sandwich.
Olivia told MailOnline that having her at the helm of the show works because ‘she loves airing her dirty laundry’ and her honesty about her previous relationships allows viewers to relate (pictured with husband Bradley Dack)
Eight unsuspecting boyfriends – from serial cheaters, lazy lovers, commitment, phones and man-children – are flown out to a Greek Island under the premise of filming a series about manhood and bromance on a lads’ holiday
But their girlfriends make a shock arrival after which Olivia announces their wild partying days are on hold to reveal they are on a show designed to whip them into better boyfriend shape
But speaking to MailOnline, Olivia said she could not sleep before the show for fear the sting would result in all the boyfriends angrily leaving the show
She said: ‘It was like a military operation getting this off the ground. And, you know, at the end of the day, you can’t make anyone do anything. So there was a really real chance that we could have revealed the real show and lost every one’
‘So, yeah, it became very real once they all were there and I was seeing them, you know, cheering it up with the lads.
‘But then my role was really different from that of a normal presenter as I saw them every day. I would check in with them off camera and I became really close to a lot of them.’
There will be eliminations across the series as the least improved boyfriends deemed incapable of improving are voted out, resulting in one boy being crowned the most improved boyfriend but left facing a huge dilemma…
