Olivia Attwood reveals plans to crack America without relying on reality TV - after rival Maura Higgins signed up for Dancing With The Stars

Olivia Attwood has revealed she plans to crack the US in a bid to make her brand international. 

The former Love Island star, 35, has become a household name in the UK after hosting several TV and radio shows and fronting many brand campaigns. 

Yet now she wants to emulate her success across the pond, with Olivia revealing she plans to bring in an American audience to some of her successful entertainment outlets. 

It's a move that's worked for fellow Love Island star Maura Higgins, who is set to appear on this season of Dancing With The Stars after gaining a US fanbase by filming their version of The Traitors last year. 

Yet unlike Maura, Olivia doesn't want to make her name on reality TV, telling the Daily Mail: 'What I want and what is hopefully going to happen is that my formats become transatlantic because I'm definitely not in a stage where I want to take part in any kind of reality [TV].'

'I want to nurture the formats that I've been building, Bad Boyfriends, The Price Of Perfection, all of that. I think it's about how I can take that there.'

Olivia continued: 'My podcast is already doing big numbers in the US and we filmed out there last year. We're going back again the end of this year to do more recordings. 

'So I think it's about just basically bringing my two audiences together. That would be like, that's kind of what we're focusing on.'

Olivia added that the conversation about cracking the US 'happens in our office year on year, but it's really hard when I'm so booked here'. 

She mused: 'When is the time to go, this grass I've watered when am I going to abandon it so to speak to take the jump over there.'

If Olivia makes her move to the US, it will be the latest similarity between herself and fellow Love Island star Maura, who are said to have fallen out over 'copycat' accusations. 

The TV stars share many career parallels, having both started out as 'Monster Energy Girls' before signing up for Love Island and then I'm A Celeb. 

However, it was Olivia who appeared on both shows first, although she had to leave the jungle early on medical grounds. 

The pair's rift first surfaced during Maura's stint in the I'm A Celeb jungle, where she claimed to have scrubbed a toilet with an ex-boyfriend's toothbrush for revenge, a story she had previously linked to her breakup with Curtis Pritchard.

Sources revealed at the time that Maura was seen as trying to follow a 'similar script' to boost her appeal, mirroring Olivia's path after she signed up for Love Island in 2017 following her first split from Bradley Dack. 

The tension between the two further escalated when they were both signed to the same PR agency, Dundas Communications. 

The dynamic became awkward as they were lined up for similar jobs, prompting Olivia, who had worked with the agency first, to move on. 

In a surprising turn, ten months after Olivia joined a new public relations agency, Align, which specialises in growing careers in America, Maura followed suit, signing with the same company.

The pair also share a love interest, with Maura enjoying a brief fling with Olivia's boyfriend Pete Wicks last year.

In recent months, Maura has been focusing on building up her brand in the US. 

The reality star first became known to Americans when she became the social media presenter for Love Island USA and Love Island Games in 2023.

She then went on to present the sister show Aftersun for both formats. 

Maura reached an even bigger audience when she signed up for The Traitors US, competing alongside the likes of Lisa Rinna, Michael Rapaport and Donna Kelce. 

Now she's gearing up to compete on Dancing With The Stars, one of America's most popular shows. 

Maura is competing with professional dancer Mark Ballas, who she starred with on The Traitors and who is the son of Strictly judge, Shirley.  

Elsewhere in her chat with the Daily Mail, Olivia admitted she's struggling to navigate her romance with TOWIE star Pete after their relationship was made public. 

The couple first met in 2017 and became firm friends, but things turned romantic this year following the breakdown of Olivia's marriage to Bradley Dack.

After months of fan speculation and candid moments caught on camera, Olivia finally confirmed the romance with a series of loved-up Instagram snaps, joking in the caption that fans 'bullied me into hard launching'. 

Now, Olivia has confessed that she genuinely has been struggling with how much to share about their romance, explaining: 'We're in the infancy of navigating it. So I guess we're kind of working as it goes.

'I understand the interest. For a lot of people it's a crossover of two people that they've followed in different ways for a long time. So I understand and I have a very open dialogue with my audience. 

'Now that people know we're together we're working out not shutting people out who have been so lovely and happy for us and excited to watch our relationship grow, but also making sure that we keep enough back like that's just for us.'

Olivia, who is known for her straight talking and no-nonsense attitude, added that she's trying to work on scaling back what she shares with fans, to ensure she keeps some semblance of privacy.  

The TV presenter mused: 'I never feel like I've said something I shouldn't. It's always the opposite. 

'I come from a reality background and I've had cameras in my home and I think that when I don't share everything, I get a guilt complex!

'I am reminded by people around me I don't have to explain everything, but I guess I'm still trying to tell myself that.

'I sometimes put too much pressure on myself to share more than I need to, which is weird because I think everyone else in this industry is the opposite.' 

Yet Olivia added that she loves the relationship she has with her followers and that she often forgets that she's broadcasting to three million followers rather than in a group chat.  

As fans will know, this year in particular has been a hectic one for Olivia. 

It began with her split from footballer Bradley, with Olivia moving out of their Cheshire home and into a new flat in London. 

Yet there was no real time to mourn the end of her marriage as she was thrown straight into work, first hosting ITV2 reality series The Heat, then season three of her series The Price of Perfection. 

She has also continued to record her podcast Olivia's House and co-host her KISS Radio show The Sunday Roast with boyfriend Pete. 

Yet Olivia's attitude is very much that it's now or never when it comes to building her career, musing: 'I don't have kids and I've got a great team around me. 

'Yeah there are sacrifices I make but I think this is that era of my life where I'm deep in the hustle and want to make hay while the sun shines.' 

For now, Olivia is focusing on her work with Shark Ninja, fronting a campaign for their Ninja CRISPi microwave, air fryer and oven. 

Olivia explained that she felt connected to the advert because it's about 'where people have kept their old microwave for way too long and it's all about kind of updating and refreshing your situation.

'It's a year where I've had a lot of change and a lot of new things coming into my life.'

Olivia Attwood has partnered with Shark Ninja to promote the new NinjaCRISPi Microwave which is available now.