Olivia Attwood makes solo arrival at NTAs without husband Bradley Dack as she reunites with Pete Wicks on the red carpet – after admitting her marriage is ‘a work in progress’ following THAT messy Ibiza trip

Olivia Attwood commanded attention on Wednesday night as she made a solo arrival at London‘s O2 Arena for the National TV Awards.

The Love Island star, 34, exuded elegance in an angelic white gown with an asymmetrical neckline, that clung to every inch of her svelte frame.

The striking number looked not unlike a wedding dress, boasting a satin lapel detail and a plunging backless design, complete with a row of neat buttons and small train.

Opting to keep her look simple and polished, Olivia wore minimal jewellery a soft palette of makeup, while sweeping her hair up into an chic updo. 

But missing from her side was husband Bradley Dack, after Olivia recently raised eyebrows when she was pictured cosying up to longtime pal Pete Wicks during a messy trip to Ibiza.

The Loose Women star later admitted she could understand why the images made her footballer husband ‘upset’ and confessed her marriage was a ‘work in progress’ on Wednesday morning during an appearance on Lorraine.

And she enjoyed a red carpet reunion with Pete, 36, who was hosting the arrivals with best pal Sam Thompson for a second year in a row.

The TOWIE star was snapped with his arm draped around bikini-clad Olivia on a yacht during a drunken boat party on the White Isle. 

The image prompted a backlash online, as well as unsavoury chants aimed at Bradley by football fans watching him play for League Two side Gillingham.

The pictures even sparked a feud with Olivia’s closest pal Ryan Kay, her former assistant, who has reportedly cut the TV presenter out of his life completely.

Last week, Olivia admitted that her marriage to Bradley had faced a ‘challenging’ six months and she understood why the footballer was ‘upset’ seeing pictures of her cosying up to Pete.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, she reiterated that her and Brad’s relationship is ‘not perfect’ but insisted they are still very much together – and that she and Pete are just good friends and work colleagues.

Opening up about the furore which sparked numerous headlines, Olivia insisted that both her and Bradley are determined to overcome what she described as ‘difficult times’ sparked by their incredibly busy work schedules. 

She said: ‘Me and Brad never pretend to have a perfect relationship, we have been up, down, left, backwards, and the last six months have been really challenging for us.

‘My work and his work take precedence over everything, we have to navigate our relationship all the time.

‘It’s the boring side of being an adult in a long-term relationship, we constantly have to work at it and that’s just the truth.

‘No one else really wants to say that part out loud but it is difficult at times. It’s great to post a picture on Instagram but we’re transparent people and it’s not always like that. 

‘There are ups and downs, there are things on his side which haven’t been great, there’s a mix of things. I have f***ed up and done stuff, Brad has f***ed up. It’s really easy to pretend you’re perfect but no one is if you just dig a little deeper.’

On Bradley’s reaction to seeing her pictured with former TOWIE lothario Pete, who had his hand on her thigh, she added: ‘I get why Brad didn’t like it, we were all on the boat, drinking and hugging each other and being best friends, it was family vibes. 

‘But if it was the other way around, of course I wouldn’t like it either, me and Brad are very similar people, we were drawn together because we’re both quite out there personality-wise, we know how to have fun.

‘But I completely understand why he was a bit miffed but it was never as deep as anyone made out. People were like, “oh my God, they’re getting a divorce because Pete hugged her”, but that’s not the case. Also, Pete is hugging me, I was just there!’

She continued: ‘It was just a holiday to Ibiza, who knew it would cause so much trouble? I was there with KISS, which is why Pete was there and we were hosting for them, we hosted an O Beach event and a couple of my pals joined and we had a few extra days.’

Gary Lineker, This Morning and EastEnders were among the big winners at the National TV Awards on Wednesday.

Hosted by Joel Dommett for its 30th anniversary, the awards were televised on ITV1, with the winners voted for by the public.

And one of the biggest surprises of the night saw Gary finally bring an end to Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly‘s 23-year winning streak, as the former footballer, 64, scored the win for Best Presenter.

The emotional presenter used his acceptance speech to take a pointed dig at his controversial departure from Match of the Day, as he declared it was ‘OK to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice’.

After 26 years, Gary presented his final show in May, after sharing a pro-Palestine Instagram video about Zionism featuring an emoji of a rat, which has anti-Semitic connotations. He apologised, but stepped down as host.

Speaking to the NTAs crowd, he admitted ‘it’s not lost on me why I might have won this award’, before ending his speech: ‘I think it demonstrates that perhaps it’s OK sometimes to use our platform to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice.’

While it was also a redemption evening for This Morning, who scooped the Best Daytime gong again two years after their bruising defeat to The Repair Shop.

It also marked the first win for new hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, with Alison Hammond telling the audience how they had all been ‘humbled’ by the past two losses. 

 

And Strictly Come Dancing also came out champions, bagging Best Talent Show, despite a year full of scandals and controversies.

However, due to recording schedules for this year’s series, Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman and the judges were unable to be there to collect the award. 

And after it returned for its long-awaited finale at Christmas, beloved sitcom Gavin & Stacey won the award for Best Comedy, with Ruth Jones and Larry Lamb accepting the gong.

Jeremy Clarkson‘s smash-hit show Clarkson’s Farm also came out on top, with Jeremy taking the moment to make a quip to the audience about how he was on weight-loss jab Mounjaro. 

However, Stacey Solomon suffered a further blow following on from her BAFTA  snub earlier this year, as her factual series Sort Your Life Out missed out on an NTA gong again, while she also lost out on Best Presenter.

Meanwhile Liz Hurley and Rob Rinder announced this year’s winner of the Reality Competition was I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, with reigning King of the Jungle Danny Jones leading the 2024 cast onstage to accept.

And Netflix’s Adolescence also proved a hit on the evening, with the acclaimed series beating out Disney+’s Rivals for Best New Drama, and teenage star Owen Cooper winning Best Drama Performance for playing twisted killer Jamie Miller.

An emotional moment of the night saw EastEnders‘ Jessie Wallace and Michelle Ryan present the Serial Drama Performance to co-star Steve McFadden, who couldn’t hold back his tears as he was honoured for his portrayal of Phil Mitchell’s mental health crisis.

And the Walford cast had plenty to celebrate, as the ceremony ended with EastEnders scoring the coveted Best Serial Drama prize.

The night kicked off with comedian Michael McIntyre scoring a huge win for his Big Show, as he scooped The Bruce Forsyth Entertainment Award.

Lee Mack’s The 1% Club was voted Best Quiz Show this year, with the comedian using his time on stage to poke fun at Gary. 

Meanwhile, the final ever series of Vera lost out to the BBC‘s Call The Midwife for Best Returning Drama. 

And it was a big night for former Love Island star Molly Mae Hague as she walked away with the award for Authored Documentary.

Her series, which initially charted her breakup last year from Tommy Fury, beat off stiff competition from Boyzone: No Matter What, Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, There’s Only One Rob Burrow and Freddie Flintoff.

Animated BBC series Wallace and Gromit also received a special recognition award during the night, with creator Nick Park collecting the gong. 

The NTAs were established back in 1995 to give the public a voice when it came to recognising TV talent – as previously, awards had always been dished out by industry professionals. 

Described as a ‘celebration of the nation’s most loved stars and shows’, people have had the opportunity to vote via post, telephone, and online.