Heartbreak for Josie Gibson as she misses out on Dancing On Ice job as Holly Willoughby returns
JOSIE Gibson’s chances of bagging the Dancing On Ice hosting role have been dashed after Holly Willoughby revealed her telly comeback.
It comes after The Sun reported how Holly, 42, will return to the hit reality TV series next year.
The ex This Morning anchor will join her old friend Deal or No Deal host Stephen Mulhern, 46, for Dancing on Ice‘s 15th series, which returns to ITV1 on Sunday 14 January.
Yet Josie, 38 – a regular ITV anchor and star of the I’m A Celebrity jungle – was tipped as the frontrunner for the role after Holly’s This Morning exit two months ago.
The parent-of-three quit after an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her was exposed.
At the time, a TV insider told us: “Josie’s stint in the jungle shows she has the perfect blend of humility, confidence, humour and unflappability.”
Yet the bubbly mum-of-one has now been sidelined for the gig.
Though her popularity with ITV viewers – and telly fans more widely – is sure to mean she stays at the forefront of the latest programmes.
Meanwhile, with the Dancing On Ice presenter line-up confirmed, broadcaster ITV has spoken out.
ITV‘s head of entertainment commissioning Katie Rawcliffe described Holly and Stephen’s partnership as “the start of an exciting year for the show”.
She said: “Holly and Stephen are two of our best loved presenters, so reuniting them twenty years after they first appeared on screen together to host Dancing on Ice marks the start of an exciting year for the show.”
Dancing on Ice’s line-up was revealed earlier this year with stars including S Club’s Hannah Spearritt, boxer Ricky Hatton and Emmerdale‘s Roxy Shahidi.
Gogglebox’s Stephen Lustig-Webb was forced to pull out with injury and has been replaced by Olympic legend Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards.
Meanwhile, Holly also made an unexpected return to telly this week as eagle-eyed fans spotted her on This Morning.
The popular presenter, who quit her plum daytime TV role in October, was back on screen on Wednesday.
Holly was joined by Craig Doyle, 53 – a popular stand-in host for axed This Morning anchor Phillip, 61 – as they chatted to Broadway star Idina Menzel, 52.
Yet, after a flurry of fan confusion, it became clear it was merely a re-play of a former interview earlier this year.