Miquita Oliver has revealed her Popworld co-host Simon Amstell isn’t interested in a TV reunion with her and has told her he “wouldn’t work with her again”.
The 38-year-old presenter found fame at the young age of 16 on the popular Channel 4 show alongside Simon, 42, from 2001 to 2006 but her hopes of recreating her magic on screen were dashed.
While they enjoyed plenty of laughs on their hugely popular show, they are also linked by trauma, as they both nearly died during the 2004 tsunami while vacationing together in Thailand.
Sad: Miquita Oliver has revealed her Popworld co-host Simon Amstell isn’t interested in a TV reunion with her and has told her he ‘wouldn’t work with her again’ (pictured on the show in the year 2003).
The couple became separated, ran away and thought each other had died before finally being reunited.
Discussing whether she wants to rekindle her TV connection with a comeback, she told Ok! Magazine: “I tried! But Simon won’t work with me again. I do not know why.
“He says, ‘It was brilliant, but let’s just leave it at that’.” And I’m like, ‘Yeah… but we were so good’.’
“So for now I have to be happy to have him as a friend. He’s a very, very important person in my life, but I’m not sure if the TV reunion will happen.
Career: The 38-year-old presenter rose to fame at the young age of 16 on the popular Channel 4 show alongside Simon, 42, from 2001 to 2006 (pictured November 2021)
The star also opened up about her “surreal” near-death experience during a trip, saying it was “earth-shattering” and “terrifying”.
In 2004, a massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.
She said it was “absolutely awful” and that Simon tried to joke about it too soon after it happened, which made her feel uncomfortable.
Creepy: While they enjoyed plenty of laughs on their hugely popular show, they are also linked by trauma, as they both almost died during the 2004 tsunami while vacationing together in Thailand
Awkward: Discussing whether she’d want to rekindle her TV bond with a comeback, she said Ok! Magazine: “I tried! But Simon won’t work with me again. I do not know why’
She co-hosted Channel 4’s Popworld with Simon from 2001 to 2006.
Miquita then presented on T4 from 2006 to 2010 and had her own show, The Month With Miquita, on 4Music.
But after her meteoric rise to fame at 16, she opened up about how she burned out at just 26 and filed for bankruptcy in 2012 over an unpaid tax bill.
Co-stars: She added, “He’s like, ‘It was brilliant, but let’s just leave it at that.'” And I’m like, ‘Yeah… but we were so good’
TV star: Since Popworld, Miquita has presented The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita with her mother – chef and musician Andi Oliver, 57
In the chat, she explained how she “lost everything” but that it taught her to get back up and live differently.
After she took a break from the limelight and turned to therapy, which she still attends.
It comes after Miquita opened up about her experiences of “self-loathing” as a teenager while in public last month.
Speaking to Women’s Health, she said, “It’s been tough seeing my body developing, swaying and fleshing out in front of the Popworld cameras.”
She continued, “I was also one of the few black people on TV at the time, and my body anxiety was compounded by self-loathing for being black.
“I cut off my locks and got hair extensions because I felt like they made me look more acceptable — whiter. I just wasn’t very comfortable being a woman of mixed race.”
Miquita, whose mother is chef and musician Andi Oliver, 57, also spoke about her multiracial heritage and said she only recently learned about her famous parents’ experiences of racial abuse.
The star said she was surprised to hear about her mother’s experiences of racism, adding that she is proud to be her mother’s daughter.
Buddy: During the interview, Miquita also opened up about her close friendship with Lily Allen, who she partied with in their 20s