Josie Gibson is loved by millions for her role on This Morning but has admitted that she is “struggling and stressed” away from the bright lights of her thriving showbiz career
We’ve seen her locked in the Big Brother house and battling her biggest phobia – spiders – in the I’m A Celebrity jungle, but thankfully the star was safely in her comfort zone while filming her latest TV show.
The much-loved presenter is clearly in her element hosting Josie’s Taste Of The West Country, which sees the Somerset-based star sampling the specialities of the region. It also meant the mum-of-one was never too far from her seven-year-old son, Reggie James.
Despite her regular role co-hosting ITV’s This Morning, chatting to Josie it’s obvious she’s still very much a homebody who’s happier pottering around her four-bedroom countryside home than soaking up the bright lights of London. And that’s all because of how seriously she takes her role as a mother.
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“I only get to be a mum once and you never get that time back,” she tells us when we ask if she would ever consider a full-time position at This Morning. “I need to be down this neck of the woods. I love the West Country. That’s where I’m from. That’s where I feel myself and that’s where I feel like I can grow.”
Josie isn’t shy about sharing the ups and downs of motherhood with her hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Asked if she ever feels like a role model to other parents out there, she lets out a self-deprecating laugh Oh, no – please, no!” she gasps. “Mums don’t look up to me. I’m juggling, I’m struggling, I’m stressed.
“I am just like any other mum out there. It’s all a juggle and it’s all a learning curve and I am just trying to hold it together.”
While he might live far from the glamorous world his mum occasionally inhabits, there’s a chance Reggie could one day follow in his mum’s footsteps into showbiz.
“I took him on the This Morning sofa and I pretended that we were interviewing somebody famous, because we’d had Orlando Bloom in the day before. And now he wants to be a famous actor,” she tells us. “Reg can be whatever he wants to be, he can be whoever he wants to be, as long as he’s happy and he’s not hurting anybody.”
Over the years the star, who turned 41 in January, has navigated the ups and downs of life in the spotlight with dignity and good humour, and while no celebrity is immune from trolling, Josie seems remarkably unfazed by what’s thrown at her.
“I love a bit of hate on social media,” she shrugs. “I think it’s the greatest thing ever. I think if you’re not getting hated by somebody, you’re doing something wrong!”
In fact, she looks to a certain outspoken role model for inspiration when it comes to dealing with difficult people.
“I cannot wait to be like Miriam Margolyes,” she says of the famously quick-witted Harry Potter actress, 84. “The older you get, you care less and I just can’t wait to get to Miriam’s stage.”
Josie has previously hit back at claims she’s had weight loss surgery, saying she doesn’t want to “mess around” with her body. But the star tells us that, as she ages, she’s not afraid to undergo any tweakments, should she choose to.
“I’m going to do anything that I want to do,” she exclaims. “Like Cher, if I want to put my t*** on my back, then that is up to me!”
Despite her 15 years in the public eye, Josie claims she still doesn’t feel that famous. Does she really believe people don’t know who she is, after all these years?
“I get to do an amazing job, I get to work with some incredible people, but I don’t,” she stresses. “I’ve never felt famous. I’ve felt popular, yeah, but I’ve never felt like a celebrity – even when I was on I’m A Celebrity!”
She then adds with a laugh, “I’ve still got to speak to my agents about that one.”
Despite the nation falling in love with her down-to-earth charms all over again, Josie says she doesn’t harbour fond memories of her time in the jungle back in 2023. Seriously?
“No! Not at all,” she laughs. “Only because I’m so scared of spiders – like, severely. I was just jumping out of my skin all the time. I couldn’t go to the toilet for three weeks, I was scared of spiders. It was just so scary.”
Asked which of her campmates she warmed to, Josie – who came fourth in her series, which was won by Made In Chelsea star Sam Thompson – recalls striking up a sweet bond with Jamie-Lynn Spears, pop icon Britney’s younger sister.
“She was lovely,” says Josie. “She even got Reg a present. She got him an Elf on the Shelf, because in the camp I said I don’t do it with him.
“So when I got out, she’d wrapped this gift for him – and it was an Elf on the Shelf. She’s just lovely – a real family woman.”
Josie can currently be seen travelling around the West Country as she hosts the five-part series, which takes in Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall and showcases the many culinary delights the region has to offer.
“I’ve always wanted to do a ‘taste of the West Country’ [show] as a nod to where I live, because it’s just amazing,” she beams. “It’s a bit like how Dermot O’Leary does his Irish show [Dermot O’Leary’s Taste Of Ireland] and Ainsley Harriott goes all around the Caribbean [in Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen]. I just thought, ‘Well, I’ve got it right here on my doorstep.
“I learnt about how so much quality food comes out of this neck of the woods. We’ve got watercress farms on our doorstep. That’s going to be the new big food, I think. It’s underrated and it’s a massive superfood.
“We’ve also got the best ciders – obviously we went to a cider farm – and the best cheese is from down here. The only official Cheddar cheese comes out of Cheddar.”
Above all, though, Josie delighted in meeting locals who reminded her why her part of the country is so special.
“The people I met along the way were so passionate and had such a love for what they do,” she says. “It was lovely to give them a nod and actually get them recognised, to bring them to the forefront.”
Josie’s Taste Of The Westcountry, in association with Rodda’s, airs on ITV and ITVX
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