Yahoo News This Morning's Josie Gibson's real reason for not replacing Holly Willoughby and says 'do you really think'
Josie Gibson has finally addressed the real reason she wasn't chosen to replace Holly Willoughby on This Morning after Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard were announced as the new permanent co-hosts back in February.
The new duo began their first-ever stint hosting the ITV daytime show together last month after they were unveiled as the official replacements for both Holly, who quit the show after 14 years last October, and Phillip Schofield who was forced to step back from ITV after admitting to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger employee.
Following Holly's sudden exit months after her former co-host and friend, Josie continued to fill in alongside many other of the show's presenters including Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary, Craig Doyle, Rochelle Humes, Rylan Clark, Emma Willis and Andi Peters.
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But fans were surprised when Josie wasn't chosen for the main hosting gig and felt for the TV star after she stepped up during the various line-up changes. However, the mum-of-one has actually now confirmed that taking on the job wouldn't have worked for her.
Josie, who joined the ITV programme in 2019 as a segement presenter before being chosen as one of the show's relief presenters, suggested to the Daily Mail that she wouldn't have been a candidate for one of the vacancies left by Holly and Phil due to living outside of London with her son Reggie, five, whom she shares with an ex-partner.
She told the outlet: "If I lived in London I would have loved the job. But I don't live in London, I live [in Bath], and this is where I am, and this where my family is this, where my life is." Josie went on to suggest during the recent interview that she will "never get this time back" as a single parent to her son.
Further discussing the long-running show, Josie stated in the interview: "This Morning have been so good to me." The presenter stated that those behind the show are "really understanding" about her being a parent, adding that she's "juggling" responsibilities.
She was also asked to address claims of 'toxicity' behind the scenes which emerged amid Phillip's shock exit from the programme after 21 years. "Bl**dy toxic? Do you think me and Alison [Hammond] are gonna work somewhere that's toxic," the former Big Brother winner declared.
"Alison's my one of my besties, do you think? Are we me and our whole people are gonna go into somewhere that's that toxic.' Josie was adamant critics of the show were 'jumping on the bandwagon' and thanked This Morning bosses Martin Frizell, Vivek Sharma and more for the opportunities she had been afforded on the show.
She said: "Now I'm presenting the main show. So this is sort of they sort of saw something in in me that I didn't see in myself, and that I've got them all to thank for that, like Martin Frizell, Vivek Sharma and more... They've had my back, and they've they've kept with me, and they've they yeah, they like. I said they. I didn't. They saw something that I never saw."
She spoke about her life on and off-screen amid her collaboration with Yoplait, in which she has launched a mission to help boost calcium intake in kids. Josie and Reggie replicated iconic 'Got Milk?' images by posing with yoghurt moustaches made from Petits Filous for the shoot, before the stunner revealed why she was never pegged to replace Holly on the show.
