Olivia Attwood and Pete Wicks are the new showbiz double act – think Ant and Dec, but with more expletives.
Bonding over verbal abuse, their love for partying and the colour black, the pals have embarked on their first project as a duo – a KISS radio show. Expect drunken stories, celebrity gossip and possibly a bit of swearing. The pair sit down to discuss their new partnership – and between cutting remarks and mild insults, the pair are really quite sweet about their close friendship.
“Liv’s best trait is that she’s secretly one of the kindest, most intelligent people,” reveals Strictly Come Dancing star Pete, 37. “She’s super intelligent… and she hides it very well! She’d do anything for anyone she cares about. But now I feel awful for saying that, so she’s also a bit of a pr*ck. I just have to balance things out.”
Olivia, 33, thinks highly of Pete, too. “He’s very loyal,” she says. “If he’s in your corner, you know he’ll be there for you.” The pair first met eight years ago at an awards event, shortly after Olivia left the Love Island villa in 2017 – and they got on like a house on fire.
“We took the p**s out of each other all night, and we’ve done the same ever since,” says Pete, who was on The Only Way Is Essex at the time. “I knew right then we’d be good friends. We’ve got the same sense of humour.”
“The good thing is neither of us have a line,” agrees Olivia, who is married to Gillingham FC footballer Bradley Dack. “We’re both pretty thick-skinned. That’s why it works. Also, the more outrageous it is, the funnier it is.”
In public, they hilariously roast each other, but away from the cameras, they’re there for the highs and lows of life. Pete says, “Anything serious in our lives, we actually talk about that stuff as well, but that’s more of a private thing. I genuinely care about Liv. She’s a really good friend of mine. I think that’s the first time I’ve said that. It made me feel a little bit sick, as well.”
Olivia agrees. “Pete looks after me,” she says. “When we’re on nights out, we even back when we were both in TOWIE, he’d be like, ‘Right, that’s enough. You should go to bed now'."
On their Sunday afternoon radio show, listeners should expect some mammoth hangovers from these two booze hounds. “We bond very much over our love of a night out, and that’s part and parcel of what the show is about,” says Pete. “The Sunday scaries. We’ll be living it along with everyone else.”
“Liv and I don’t like to end a night early,” he adds proudly. “We’ve ended up in some real dumps. As long as the bar is open, we’ll make it a good party."
“We end up in in-depth conversations, putting the world to rights,” adds Olivia. Calling Olivia his “work wife”, Pete reveals she’s got a couple of titles for him. “I’m her butler or carer,” he starts. “I know Liv’s order because when we go out, she immediately orders me to the bar.”
“I do treat you like staff... I dunno why!” laughs Olivia. “He’s a gentleman.” “Not really – I’m scared of her,” says Pete.
Pete has recently moved into a cool bachelor pad in east London, but rather than organise a huge house party, he’s been doing something more sedate. “This is gonna sound really pathetic,” he warns. “I’m a 37-year-old man who last night got into bed, in a pretty much empty flat – because it’s not all been fully done yet – and watched the new Lion King film.”
Despite his rugged exterior, we all know Pete is a softie at heart. A couple of months ago, he had everyone in tears – including himself – on his moving animal rescue series, Pete Wicks : For Dogs ’ Sake. But he says Olivia isn’t a crier. “I dunno if it’s the work she’s had done or if her tear ducts don’t work,” he quips. Olivia plays along: “It’s difficult for me to move my face… but also, I’m not a crier.”
It’s clear that the friends have each other’s backs and have a lot of fun together – which all makes for a great radio show.
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