Josie’s Rise To The Top
As TV Presenter Josie Gibson celebrates her 39th birthday on January 24, 2024, she admits her road to success has comes with challenges, mishaps – and new opportunities…
Warm, friendly and funny, Josie has firmly established herself as one of This Morning’s best-loved presenters, but while her star is very much on the rise, bubbly Josie Gibson reveals it hasn’t always been that way.
After winning Big Brother in 2010 Josie then spent years trying to make her dream of a TV career become a reality.
She applied – unsuccessfully – for more than 70 jobs, appeared on other reality TV shows, wrote magazine columns and released a fitness DVD, but nothing seemed to work.
It was a helping hand from veteran presenter Eamonn Holmes that finally put her on the path to success.
Josie’s determination paid off
“I think, because of the Big Brother thing, it held me back a bit and nobody wanted to know,” Josie has since admitted.
I put myself out there. I did not stop trying
“More than 72 people I tried – I had a list of people who I’d asked for a job.”
But an appearance on This Morning changed everything when Eamonn Holmes spotted her raw talent.
“He said, ‘I like you, you’re different. Go and send some ideas to the bosses at This Morning,’” Josie, 39, recalls.
“They gave me a chance and even though I wasn’t great to begin with, my This Morning lot stuck with me. They’ve helped me grow.”
Bubbly Josie on her TV success
Josie Gibson with former co-host Holly Willoughby Pic: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
She joined the show in 2019 as a competition announcer, before moving on to bigger assignments.
Then last year she was drafted in at the last minute to cover for a sick Holly Willoughby and when Phillip Schofield left the show, Josie stepped up, hosting alongside Holly.
Bubbly and genuine with her distinctive Bristolian accent, Josie’s natural rapport with Holly slowly helped the show earn back trust from viewers after Phillip’s sudden departure.
Calamity Josie!
Josie’s always up for some fun! Pic: S Meddle/ITV/Shutterstock
Since joining This Morning Josie has been sent on a host of jobs, from testing the country’s longest zip wire, to interviewing big-name stars including Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
But there have been plenty of occasions when things haven’t gone quite as smoothly as intended. Who can forget the time when she was bitten by a pig live on air, or the hilarious moment that her shell bra fell off as she presented a segment from a mermaid school?
As her former co-presenter Holly Willoughby says,
She’s just one of those people where disaster finds her – if it’s going to go wrong, it’s going to go wrong for Josie!
Perhaps the piece de resistance was the time Josie fell into Caversham Lakes after being sent to host a segment at an inflatable water park.
She recalls, “I took my little boy to work with me that day, so I was there presenting and all I heard was him on the side of the lake going ‘Mummy!’ That’s why I fell in.
“The lifeguard tried to fish me out and it was just my big backside over all the monitors at ITV!”
This Morning viewers wouldn’t have it any other way.
Josie’s life and loves
The eldest of three brothers and three sisters, Josie grew up in Bristol. After school she found work as a financial sales rep, but fancying more fun in her life, she applied to join the 11th series of Big Brother when she was 25. She received an incredible 77.5% of the public vote (the highest ever).
During her time in the house Josie touched viewers’ hearts with her romantic relationship with housemate John James Parton.
The couple even had their own TV series, Josie and John James: What Happened Next, but parted the following year.
Josie went on to date property developer Terry, 15 years her senior, and the couple had baby son Reggie.
They parted in 2018 when Reggie was three months old, but have remained close and Josie credits Terry with helping support her career, enabling her to travel from her Bristol home to ITV’s London studios.
In a recent interview she described herself as “single as a Pringle”.
I’m quite old-fashioned and I’m cautious about who I bring into my son’s life. Right now, the only man in my life is my Reggie.
However, during an episode of Shopping with Keith Lemon last year, Josie spoke about her budding romance with a mystery partner, coyly admitting, “There is someone, but it’s early stages. It’s that bit where you’ve got the flutters, can’t-wait-to see-them vibes.”
I’m a Celebrity jungle fun
Josie Gibson, Danielle Harold and Sam Thompson in I’m A Celebrity… Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Josie’s recent stint in the jungle in the 2023 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here was another hit for the star. She just lost out on a spot in the final, but her down-to-earth attitude made her a firm favourite with fans.
Whatever happens in the future, Josie has vowed that stardom will not go to her head and says she intends to stay in her native Bristol, rather than buying a swanky new home in London.
“I like the way of life,” she explains. “I think it’s a bit more me… I can go to the shop in my pyjamas and no one would even blink an eye!”
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