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Josie Gibson: Who is she and how did she get her big break?

The TV star is going to join Holly Willoughby on the sofa for her first day back at This Morning

Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, and Josie Gibson on This Morning in 2023. (Shutterstock/ITV)
Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, and Josie Gibson on This Morning in 2023. (Shutterstock/ITV)

Josie Gibson has been confirmed as Phillip Schofield’s replacement for Holly Willoughby’s first day back on This Morning.

Willoughby has been absent from the ITV show ever since Phillip Schofield announced he was stepping down, which came shortly before he admitted to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger ITV staff member

She returns to the sofa on 5 June after a break, and Gibson will be beside her.

Read more: Alison Hammond in tears on This Morning as she says she still loves Phillip Schofield

The presenter has become a favourite with fans of the daytime programme and has some experience of hosting.

But how did she get started?

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15: Josie Gibson attends the ITV Palooza 2022 on November 15, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Lia Toby/Getty Images)
Josie Gibson is a favourite on This Morning. (Getty Images)

Big Brother win

Just like her This Morning co-star Alison Hammond, Gibson found fame on Big Brother.

She was one of the housemates on the 11th series of the reality TV show in 2010 and charmed viewers with her honesty and her crush on fellow housemate John James Parton.

She went on to win the series, apparently scooping 77.5% of the public vote.

But being crowned the winner didn’t end Bristol-born Gibson’s BB experience, as she moved back in for the Ultimate edition of the show shortly afterwards.

However, the stint proved to be a bit too long and the rising star quit after a few days.

Josie Gibson is interviewed by Davina McCall after she was announced the winner of the Big Brother 11 final, held at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Josie Gibson being interviewed by Davina McCall after she won Big Brother. (PA Images/Alamy)

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Gibson and Parton’s budding romance had captured people’s attention and TV bosses jumped at the chance to sign the pair up for their own show.

Josie And John James: What Happened Next aired later in 2010 and followed the couple as their relationship continued.

The following year Gibson was in her own programme, There's Something About Josie.

Winner Josie Gibson and John James Parton The 11th and final Big Brother 2010 at Elstree Studios Hertfordshire, England -
Josie Gibson and John James Parton. (PA Images/Alamy)

Eamonn Holmes helped Gibson get her big break

While she started to become something of a celebrity, Gibson struggled to crack the TV industry and has suggested her Big Brother start might have had something to do with it.

"I think because of the Big Brother thing, it held me back a bit and nobody wanted to know – and I mean nobody,” she once told the Huffington Post.

“Over two years, I tried and I literally put myself out there. Nobody knows this, but I got into [presenting] because I did not stop trying. More than 72 people I tried – I had a list of people who I’d asked for a job.”

Gibson kept plugging away at TV with appearances on shows including The Jump and Celebrity Wedding Planner.

And it seems her big break came when she caught the eye of former This Morning star Eamonn Holmes.

The pair met when Gibson was on the show and Holmes apparently advised her to send in some ideas to the show’s bosses.

She joined in 2019 and has credited those on the show with helping her to “grow”.

“Then they gave me a chance, and even though I wasn’t great to begin with, my This Morning lot stuck with me,” she told the Huffington Post.

In 2021 she was asked to fill in for Willoughby at the last minute, and joked to co-host Schofield at the time: “I couldn't believe it... I thought they had the wrong number, Phil.

"I said, 'You've phoned Josie’.”

Weight struggles

Josie Gibson launches Slimmables at a photocall in the Landmark Hotel  Featuring: Josie Gibson Where: London, United Kingdom When: 03 Feb 2015 Credit: WENN.com
Josie Gibson lost a lot of weight after Big Brother. (WENN.com)

Gibson has been open about her weight struggles, and in 2013 shed a huge six stone.

She told Closer at the time that she dropped the extra pounds through a “combination of healthy eating and exercise”.

As a result, she ended up getting in to the celeb fitness DVD area.

Love life and becoming a mum

While TV viewers loved Gibson and Parton’s love story, it didn’t go the distance and they split in 2011, months after meeting in the Big Brother house.

The Daily Star quoted her as saying that they moved in with each other soon after leaving the show but that “the honeymoon period was over” and they “argued all the time”.

While her romance with Parton was conducted in the public eye, Gibson has played things a little closer to her chest since then.

Josie Gibson at the Heart radio 'Have a Heart' appeal, at Global Radio, in Leicester Square, central London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday March 9, 2012. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire   (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/PA Images via Getty Images)
Josie Gibson has a son. (PA Images via Getty Images)

In 2018 she welcomed her son Reggie James with then boyfriend Terry, telling her fans on Instagram: "Apologies to all those people I have yet to thank and get back to.

"I have been in a crazy little bubble and not really with it. My waters broke at my baby shower last Wednesday and one thing lead to another.... we are delighted to announce we have a beautiful very little baby boy with the loveliest little soul."

However, she and Terry are thought to have since gone their separate ways and Gibson’s relationship status is unknown.

Best friends with Alison Hammond

Gibson and Hammond are close friends as well as colleagues, spending holidays and even Christmas together.

OK! magazine previously quoted Gibson as saying: “Alison actually got me through lockdown.

"She was there for me on the phone every night.”

Read more: Phillip Schofield: Viewers say it's time to 'be kind' after 'upsetting' interview

“I love her,” she added. “Being around Alison is like having a permanent hug.”

Watch: 'It's my biggest, sorriest secret', says Phillip Schofield