Dermot O’Leary embarrassed by height difference with Olivia Attwood on This Morning

This Morning presenter Dermot O’Leary has joked that he can’t stand when his co-host Olivia Attwood wears heels on the programme as she towers over his 5 foot 9 inch stature.

The 52-year-old TV star appeared alongside Attwood, 34, on the Friday (1 August) episode of This Morning, where the former Love Island star was covering for regular host Alison Hammond.

As the show opened, O’Leary welcomed Attwood to the programme, before adding: “Not with the heels again! I’ll be on my tippy toes all day. Someone think of the quads. I’m in such agony.”

Attwood, who’s only an inch taller than O’Leary when she’s not wearing heels, said the difference between them wasn’t “that bad”, adding she “can’t go flat footed on live telly” appearances.

When Attwood made her debut hosting appearance on This Morning last week, O’Leary playfully voiced the same complaint: “Welcome to the famalam!” he said. “You could have worn a flat. That’s all I’m saying.”

This Morning viewers were quick to comfort O’Leary: “It's fine for a woman to be taller than a man Dermot!” one person wrote on X/Twitter.

Meanwhile, others praised Attwood’s second This Morning appearance, writing: “Olivia is so lovely…We need a girls takeover – Olivia and Josie [Gibson] would be amazing on the sofa co-presenting.”

Attwood received a slew of criticism following her first appearance on ITV’s breakfast programme, which she responded to in a statement.

“Those who know me understand the hard work I've put in to get where I am today,” she said.

“I'm forever grateful to Love Island for being the springboard to my career, but I’m excited to show there's so much more to me beyond the villa.”

The former reality star continued: “It’s been a lot of hard work, but I’ve always stayed focused on my goals and believed in myself and I’m very thankful to ITV for believing in me.”

Attwood appeared on the third series of Love Island in 2017 and placed third in the ITV dating competition alongside her then-boyfriend Chris Hughes.

She has since been a panelist on Loose Women and hosts The Sunday Roast on KISS Radio alongside The Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks.