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‘I’m still here,’ Josie Gibson announced as she arrived at Metro.co.uk’s office before making a joke about how she thought she’d have been cancelled a long time ago.
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star has the same enthusiasm as an ITV daytime competition winner who just bagged the campervan and £100,000 for her incredible career that’s entering a new era 13 years after winning Big Brother.
Her unwavering excitement for the world of showbiz is something some celebrities may have lost by this point, but having met Josie at various points in her career I can attest to her still bringing the exact same energy, which makes me believe she won’t be going anywhere. However, now she just knows how to attach the microphone pack herself without any assistance.
‘You don’t mind that I went ahead, do you?’ she asked our video team before taking her seat and telling us about her recent bout of Tonsilitis that ended with a hospital trip, her day at This Morning, and insisting I have a twin (I don’t) all before we click record.
Fresh from the jungle Josie is keen to recount her experience on the popular reality show. ‘What an adventure,’ she enthused to Metro.co.uk.
Her favourite part of the month-long stint which saw her finish in fourth place was meeting her campmates, and she grew particularly fond of Sam Thompson.
Josie would like to see Sam on This Morning (Picture: Metro)
Josie would be happy for her I’m A Celebrity campmate to join her on This Morning (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
‘I would tell Sam that I thought he’d be the winner all the time,’ she revealed.
‘He has just got a lovely energy about himself and he was entertaining morning, noon, and night. I asked him what his down days had been, and he just didn’t have any. He’s like a puppy you just can’t help but love him.’
Josie may have been channelling Psychic Sally and correctly predicting his victory, but Sam wasn’t having any of it: ‘He would never let himself think that he was going to win. He’s not like that.’
Josie predicted Sam’s win (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
The pair could be spending a lot more time together, if the latest rumours are true – Sam, 31, is tipped to be a future host on This Morning.
‘I have seen the rumours that he might be doing something with This Morning and I was like “Can we please keep him?”
‘I would love for him to come over to This Morning and be part of the family. He would make such a lovely addition.’
She added that when he appeared on a recent episode ‘everyone just fell in love with him.’
‘I fell in love with him all over again,’ she added.
‘I’m hoping that the rumours are true, but I don’t know anything.’
Sam appeared on Monday’s episode of This Morning with Strictly champs Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Josie sees big things on the horizon for Sam no matter what.
‘When Sam was in a jungle, he said he would love to be on Ant [McPartlin] and Dec [Donnelly]’s level. I said “I think you can get there, you really can do it.” He’s got the magic about him.’
However, Josie is keen to point out that This Morning – which has experienced a lot of change in 2023 following the departures of both Phillip Scofield and Holly Willoughby – is not really about the hosts.
‘On This Morning, it’s not my time to shine. I’m just a host introducing you to all these magical people that we have on the show. I talk to all these different interesting people and you want to do the best by them because this is their time,’ she shared.
This means she deems it to be of the utmost importance that she stays focused for two and a half hours while they’re on the air, which can have a negative effect.
‘On This Morning, it’s not my time to shine.’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘When I get off I’m absolutely frazzled because I have to concentrate for the whole time. You can’t shut off on live TV.’
Of course, some episodes are harder than others and when asked which interviewee has posed the biggest challenge Josie paused before looking at her agent and stating: ‘I’m going to say it.’
Turning back to us, she began: ‘I love him, but it was a very challenging interview. I don’t think he’ll mind me saying it. Michael Barrymore.’
Josie has faced awkward interviews on This Morning (Picture: Metro)
Back in August, the 71-year-old comedian appeared on the series and was critical of Josie and co-host Craig Doyle. He told the duo that their chat wasn’t quite natural enough for his liking and criticised them for using an autocue.
‘He said that he didn’t read autocues in his time. Well, of course when he was doing all his showbiz stuff, they probably wouldn’t have used the autocue. He used to do everything freestyle but there’s no way you could present two and a half hours of live telly not using an autocue.’
She diplomatically concluded: ‘The thing is, I’ve always loved Michael Barrymore. I’ve always loved him and I do not dislike him but out of all everybody we’ve had on I would say, yeah, he was the most challenging.’
Michael Barrymore was Josie’s most challenging This Morning interview (Picture: ITV)
Although Josie found it hard work, many viewers praised her for how she handled the awkward interview. These skills are something she’s learned since working her up on This Morning.
She joined in 2018 as a competition announcer, before hosting the whole show for the first time in 2021. Her rise to the top of her game isn’t something Josie thinks would have been possible in recent history due to one of her defining features.
‘Years ago, I wouldn’t have been on TV. You didn’t hear people who sounded like me.’
Josie is proud of her accent (Picture: Metro)
However, there was no way Josie was going to change, the world simply had to catch up!
‘I am so proud of my accent. Having a Bristolian accent on mainstream television is incredible. It’s lovely to be able to showcase lots of regional accents, so we can identify with lots of different people at home. It’s really important and I’m glad the times have changed.
Josie is proud of her accent (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
‘Now, I’m glad I got this accent because even though it probably gets on a lot of people’s nerves I don’t know if people would ever remember me if I just spoke without an accent.’
The only time she ever changes it is when she’s speaking to American interviewees, who struggle to understand her.
‘I’ll use my phone voice then,’ she told us with a smile.
We soon could be hearing that famous accent on another TV juggernaut – Dancing On Ice. Josie is reportedly favourite to replace Holly, 42, on the skating show if she decides not to return.
Taking on more responsibility at ITV, and more exposure means bigger pay cheques but modest Josie insists she’s not a big spender.
‘I don’t really like designer things. I’ll tell you what I do love a bit of skincare. I treat myself to Space NK products. They’re quite high-end.’
As well as £16 hand soaps, Josie is also planning to make quite a big purchase with her son Reggie, five, at the forefront of her mind.
Josie knows how she’ll spend her I’m A Celebrity winnings (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)
The I’m A Celebrity pay cheque will be spent on a new home (Picture: ITV)
‘I have got to get a new house to be closer to Reggie’s school. I’ve been quite honest about spending my I’m A Celebrity money on that. That’s what I’m going to be doing with that.’
Before we say goodbye to Josie, we can’t resist asking her about the clip from Big Brother that still regularly finds its way onto our social media timelines.
Josie regrets her iconic Big Brother meme (Picture: Metro)
‘You know what I do whenever I’m feeling low, I always think about that woman that got her face ripped off by a chimpanzee,’ she told her housemates in the resurfaced video.
‘I feel so guilty about that comment because you don’t realise what you’re coming out with on TV, especially on reality TV. You forget the cameras are there. I felt so guilty when Channel 5 showed the documentary about the woman again. It’s awful. So I take that comment back. I’m very, very apologetic about that comment.’
In case you’re wondering, Josie now thinks about ‘Tony Bellew putting his size 12 feet in our chicken fried rice’ when she’s feeling down.
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We think they’d be great!