OLIVIA Attwood was in talks to sign up for I'm A Celeb for years before making history as the first Love Islander to enter the jungle.
The TV beauty was catapulted to fame in the ITV2 telly villa back in 2017.
Along with co-star Chris Hughes, Olivia reached the final and finished in third place.
The popular Islander soon landed on the radar of I'm A Celeb casting producers who wanted her in their star-studded line-up.
But twitchy bosses decided to stick to their tight Love Island ban and pulled the plug at the last minute.
A source told The Sun: "Olivia first had a meeting with ITV about appearing on I'm A Celebrity back in 2018.
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"She had just come off Love Island the year before and bosses were really keen on her, but at the time they were nervous about cast Love Islanders so she missed out.
"The meeting went really well so Olivia was really gutted."
The following year she starred in Love Island spin-off series Chris & Olivia: Crackin' On with her Islander beau.
After they split she made solo appearances in TV shows Celebs Go Dating, Towie and The Games.
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She also had her own reality series, Olivia Meets Her Match, alongside her fiancé Bradley Dack.
And most recently Olivia fronted ITV documentary Getting Filthy Rich.
But the star was always vying for spot on I'm A Celeb.
The source added: "Over the years Olivia has kept in touch with bosses and had several informal chats with them, but started to think it might never happen.
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"Now Olivia has really branched out since Love Island and become a brand in her own right, especially with her successful ITV2 documentaries, so bosses felt like this year was the perfect time to cast her.
"They think there has been enough distance between her doing Love Island and the jungle, and they're confident she'll go really far in the competition."
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