Fame is hard… not everyone has the same morals as me – says Josie Gibson
SHE stole the hearts of This Morning viewers after landing her first presenting gig with ITV in 2019.
Now fans are calling for Josie Gibson to replace Phillip Schofield and host full-time alongside Holly Willoughby.
When Phillip sensationally quit the show after 20 years last month, it was Josie, 38, who was summoned to sit by Holly’s side as the tearful star told the nation she was “shaken and troubled” by revelations of Phillip’s affair with a younger employee.
Putting the drama surrounding the channel to one side, 2010 Big Brother winner Josie says she is “in a really good place” and has nothing but kind words to offer about ITV and her telly pals, especially long-time friend Alison Hammond.
‘She’s a real girl’s girl’
“Alison is the kindest woman I’ve ever met,” she says. “She’s got a special magic energy.
“She always gives me loads of advice, she always has. She’s a real girl’s girl. She likes to see other people do well, she’s a real champion of other women. She’s lush.”
Alison also started out on Big Brother, entering the house in 2002.
The programme is making a comeback on ITV later this year and will be hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best.
Josie says: “Alison and I always share our experiences of it. And because you have experienced something so intense, we’re like a little family.
“We understand what each other has been through.”
Josie is delighted to see the show return to screens. “Of course I’m going to tune in,” she adds.
“The show is magic and I’m so glad ITV have brought it back.
“And they’ll do a really good job with it. They will do it right.”
Meanwhile, it was reported last week that Josie has also been approached to appear on the new series of I’m A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! which films in Australia later this year.
The bubbly Bristolian would jump at the chance — so long as she can conquer her fear of spiders first.
“I’d have to really think carefully about it,” she says when asked if she will do the show.
“What an experience it would be. It would be magic. But when I say I’m petrified, I mean it.
“If I have a spider in my house, I have to call my brother, who lives 25 minutes away, to get the spider out.
“When I say I am terrified, I’m absolutely terrified.”
Thirteen years after her Big Brother win, she’s more popular with
viewers than ever, but her experience in TV has not always been a bed of roses.
After Big Brother and a whirlwind romance with fellow contestant John James Parton, Josie was thrust into the limelight and found fame hard to cope with.
She says: “I realised not everyone has the same morals as me. There were people who really took advantage. Now I’ve got a great team around me.
“But back then I didn’t know what I was doing. I was shoved into a world where I didn’t know who was who. It does take a little while.”
At the height of her reality fame, Josie had a stalker to worry about too.
“He circled my house about 60 times,” she recalls. “But I felt a bit sorry for him. I didn’t do anything about it. He seemed harmless enough.
“He used to come over and he’d just drive round the block all the time. But he wasn’t consistent. But you know what? It was actually really flattering.
‘I live for the now’
“It still is when people come up and have a chat and when they ask you for a photo. I feel so honoured. I love it.”
Josie is mum to four-year-old son Reggie, who she co-parents with ex-boyfriend Terry. Reggie will start school full-time in September and Josie says she is dreading it.
“It just happened too quick,” she adds. “I’m going to cry buckets on his first day. We spend so much time together, just the two of us. Reg comes to work with me, he’s there always.”
Like any single mum, Josie has faced her fair share of parenting challenges.
“He’s so lovely and caring,” she says. “But I think the biggest challenge for me has always been the lack of sleep. We sleep together, we share a bed.
“He’s never ever been in his own room. I know it sounds bad, but it’s probably more me than him. I want him close.
“Some people say I’ve created a rod for my own back, but I don’t care. It works for us. It’s our cuddle time.
“But I’ve just had his whole room done so I’m hoping he will sleep in there now. I just can’t believe he’s four already. I keep looking back at old photos and wondering where the time has gone.”
Looking forward, on the other hand, is far less daunting. Josie is excited to see what the future holds, not least her latest ASMR campaign with chocolate giant Cadbury.
It is based on new research that 63 per cent of us believe sound enhances our overall enjoyment of food.
But what is next for the presenter? “I’d love to have a career like Jonathan Ross,” she says. “I love him.”
She also wouldn’t mind following in the footsteps of ex-Big Brother host Davina McCall, who she says is “like an aunty”.
Josie adds: “She’s amazing at giving advice. Whenever life’s a little bit rocky and you bump into her, you chat for hours and she’s just lush.”
Could Josie become as established as Davina over the next few years?
“I live for the now,” she insists. “I’ve just always rolled with the punches. And because of that, I’m where I am today.
“I’m in a really good place right now, so I’ll keep on rolling with the punches.”
- Cadbury Brunch Bar has teamed up with Josie for tongue-in-cheek ASMR content that features a symphony of sound, texture and flavour.