ITV has won the bidding war to get daytime star Josie Gibson on I’m A Celeb rather than BBC’s Strictly.
Jungle bosses were so determined to bag the This Morning host, 38, that they offered her a six-figure mega-deal reserved for the biggest names.
How This Morning’s Josie Gibson may look on I’m A Celeb later this year
Josie, pictured with This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby, was offered a six-figure mega deal by ITVCredit: Rex
The Sun first told two weeks ago of the channels’ bidding war for TV’s most-wanted woman.
And the payout from I’m A Celeb was one the dance show simply could not equal.
An ITV insider said: “Josie is hugely popular with This Morning viewers and producers were determined to get her.
“She is seen as the perfect person for the jungle as she’s already such a familiar face on ITV and will bring her fanbase with her.
“She’s incredibly down-to-earth and seems to strike a chord with people at home. Plus they’re confident Josie will bring the laughs to I’m A Celebrity, as she already does on This Morning, and is guaranteed to get on with most of the jungle campmates.
“For all those reasons they were hellbent on getting her. And if she was lured by the glitter of Strictly they weren’t going to let her go without a fight.
“Talks between Josie’s reps and bosses of the two shows had been going on for months and represented a real dilemma for the telly host.
“She knows both shows are hugely popular with the public and have the potential to boost anyone’s career who appears on them.”
Bristol-born Josie won Big Brother 2010 but her TV career appeared to have stalled until she started as a competition announcer on This Morning in 2019.
In 2021 she became a part-time presenter, filling in at short notice for Holly Willoughby.
And this May she found herself firmly in the spotlight following Phillip Schofield’s exit.
Josie has since flourished and is believed to be well-liked by the show’s team, and by Holly in particular — with viewers enjoying their on-screen dynamic.
Bristol-born Josie won Big Brother in 2010Credit: Rex
Fans have warmed to the mum- of-one’s natural presenting style, and the fact she has been open about her battle to lose weight.
After a strict diet and fitness regime in 2016, she had surgery to remove 6lb of excess skin.
Recently she lost 6st and went from a size 20 to a size 8.
In December, guest and actor James Purefoy welled up with joy at Josie’s West Country accent because it reminded him of home.
As a roving reporter, Josie has also had viewers crying with laughter at her mishaps.
She has been bitten by pigs, fallen into the sea off a paddleboard and turned the air blue while struggling at archery alongside Alison Hammond.
But she is not averse to dropping a few sexual innuendos which have had the studio in fits of laughter including the time she went on a rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
As she climbed into a carriage and pulled the safety bar down she said: “I tell you what, I haven’t had a ride in such a long time it’s about time I get the adrenaline pumping actually.”
Some challenges she completed were equally funny and gave ITV bosses an insight into how she might perform on some of I’m A Celeb’s hair-raising trials.
Once she went headfirst down Britain’s longest zipwire, in North Wales, after initially refusing to go through with it.
She screamed so loudly during the descent she had presenters Dermot O’Leary and Rochelle Humes concerned for her safety.
And when she went investigating reports of spectres in a Somerset wood, she went dressed in an extremely tight Ghostbusters- style boiler suit that embarrassingly split right up the crotch.
She explained en route: “What happened was I was filling up the car in the petrol station and I had a little accident.”
Given how clumsy she can be, she admits she probably is not best suited to Strictly, as she confirmed in an interview last year.
She said: “The thing is — and I think the Strictly team might be aware of this — I’m not very good at picking up dancing really.
“They are really hard. I don’t think my brain works with my body that fast.”
Josie is set to appear on this autumn’s I’m A Celebrity alongside actor Alan Halsall — Coronation Street’s Tyrone Dobbs.
The full line-up has yet to be revealed.
A spokesman for I’m A Celebrity said: “We don’t comment on speculation on contestants.”
FROM BIG BROTHER TO BUG BOTHER
JOSIE first charmed the nation in Big Brother 2010, telling housemates: “Whenever I feel a bit low I always think about that woman who got her face ripped off by a chimpanzee.”
The reality show led to There’s Something About Josie and challenge show The Jump.
But her association with Big Brother began to become more of a curse than blessing.
Josie said last year: “It held me back a bit and nobody wanted to know, and I mean nobody. Over two years, I tried and I put myself out there.
“Nobody knows this, but I got into TV presenting because I did not stop trying.”
Four years ago she got a job on This Morning.
She said: “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.
“They’d only give me a minute of TV first of all, then a couple more, then four minutes, five, and now I’ve been presenting the show.”
Her close friend on the show, Alison Hammond, also got her break on Big Brother.
Josie has said: “Alison always gives me advice. I don’t think I’ve been that great with my confidence and Alison is the one that’s helped me.
“She pushes me and goes, ‘look, you deserve to be there as well as anybody else. Josie, as long as you’re having a good time, they are, and that’s all that matters’.”
I’m A Celeb producers were determined to persuade Josie Gibson to join the show as she’s a huge hit with This Morning viewersCredit: Rex
