KATIE HIND: I wonder if Olivia Attwood’s ‘new boyfriend’ Pete Wicks knows what she’s been saying BEHIND his back. I do. She’s been pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes…

At exactly 7pm on Thursday night, I arrived at The Ivy Brasserie on Chelsea’s Kings Road to meet Olivia Attwood for dinner.

When I suggested the blonde presenter’s ‘friendship’ with former Towie heartthrob Pete Wicks (Kiss FM co-host) had morphed into something altogether less wholesome, I was under no illusions that this meeting was a charm offensive to get me ‘to his side’.

I told you that until it was revealed that the 34-year-old had split from her footballer husband Bradley Dack, there was a carefully orchestrated PR campaign to keep their close ‘friendship’ secret.

The last thing Olivia, who is tipped to replace Holly Willoughby as ITV’s golden girl and top female presenter, wanted was for her squeaky clean image to be shattered.

It was clear that our dinner date was non-negotiable. When I told the hard-working PR professional that I couldn’t meet her at 4 or 5 p.m., she told me that Olivia, 34, was very keen not to cancel and suggested we meet later.

Of course, it’s impossible to know whether Olivia had any idea that she would be photographed kissing Pete just over 24 hours later.

After arriving at the Flute Bar in London’s Soho at 8.30pm on Friday, they stood up at their tables and kissed in public around 10pm, apparently applauded by the group of friends who watched the moment of passion.

Sources told The Sun, which published the photos on its front page, that they were happy with this new development in their relationship and that Pete had supported Olivia after she split from Bradley in February.

Sources tell Katie Hind they are now together, contradicting Olivia’s official stance on Pete Wicks

“Their passionate romance began in the last few weeks after she broke up with Bradley, with no overlap whatsoever,” a friend said.

‘Olivia’s close friends know about this new development and are pleased to see Pete putting a smile on her face.’

They added: ‘She was on the brink of a really terrible breakup and Pete helped her through the process.’

Still, while Olivia was a charming companion on Thursday evening — as she complimented me on my perfume and apologized for a photoshoot she couldn’t attend a few years ago — she wasn’t exactly willing to share with me the happy news of her new relationship.

Because after chatting the next morning about his early start observing the plastic surgery procedure for the ITV documentary The Price of Perfection, I had the obvious question to ask him: ‘How’s Pete doing then?’ What’s going on? Is he your boyfriend?’

‘Would like to be,’ he said with a smile on his face. What we know now may not be entirely true.

He added: ‘I’m not sure though. ‘We’re really good friends, he’s like a male version of me, so our banter on the radio show works so well.’

He went on to say what a great time they had with each other. Indeed, two weeks ago they were photographed leaving a hotel in Manchester the morning after the BRIT awards.

Of course, Pete, 37, is known as a womanizer; The long list of exes includes Olivia’s nemesis and former Love Island star Maura Higgins, whom she accused of ‘copying’ her career.

Pete was dating Maura in the winter of 2024 and was also linked to his then Strictly Come Dancing partner Jowita Przystal.

As we chatted, it was clear that Olivia was concerned about his catalog of women and said she ‘knew’ all about his past because she had trusted him over the years.

“I know all about Pete and the other women,” she admitted. ‘He told me everything. And I said, ‘I know all this because you told me.’ Then he burst into laughter.

Perhaps that’s why the PR for Olivia, who she hired as ITV’s former broadcaster at the start of the year and who also attended our dinner, seemed to be less of a sell on the star, who is now dating her client.

He actually told her that she could do better and that it might be better for her to meet someone new and fresh. So I stood up to her and told her that if she really loved Pete, she should date him. He just chuckled.

This was the first time Olivia had broken her silence on her romance with Pete, with whom she was spotted cozying up during a business trip to Ibiza last summer.

Olivia also spoke about footballer Bradley Dack, 32, whom she married just three years ago after splitting from boyfriend Chris Hughes, whom she met on Love Island in 2017.

He reminded how happy they were, but said his knee injury put pressure on them as a couple.

‘We had the best time living in Cheshire, there were so many players and their wives. I loved it there, but when he got injured I was his caregiver and it was really hard.

‘He hasn’t played for a long time, this is something really serious.’

We also discussed how difficult it can be to be a single woman; It’s something that’s made all the more difficult as she has to cope with the demands of her and Bradley’s two rescue dogs, Lola and Stitch, who live with her in her new home in south London.

Did I believe the story that at the end of our night together, which Olivia had paid for, that she and Pete were a new couple and she was still considering whether she wanted to be with him?

I must say that in all my years as a show business journalist, I was not expected to believe such a fabricated story.

I’m afraid Olivia has intimidated a lot of people, especially her fans.