Who is Josie Gibson and how is she famous? Here's what you need to know as she hosts This Morning

Who is Jodie Gibson and how did she become a This Morning host? Viewers are wondering all about the new presenter who is joining Holly Willoughby on screen today.

The reality TV star, who stood in at the very last minute for regular host Holly Willoughby when she was off sick last year, has gone from strength to strength since she made her ITV daytime debut as the main presenter alongside Phillip Schofield.

Josie got another go at hosting the main show alongside Vernon Kay as the pair covered some of both Holly and Phil's four-week Christmas break.

Holly Willoughby has been missing from the show while she films her newest TV project lately but finally returned today without Phillip, who is off sick with Covid-19.

Josie and Holly have teamed up to create a brand new presenting duo on the show that has the Deidre phone in and Spin to Win, sparking plenty of questions from fans about the Big Brother star.

Who is Josie Gibson and how is she famous?

Josie Gibson is a reality TV star who won the 2010 series of Channel 4 reality show Big Brother.

She donated £20,000 of her winnings to charity CLIC Sargent - now known as Young Lives vs Cancer.

Josie, 36, used to work as a financial sales rep until she made her TV debut and upon leaving the house, she filmed her own reality TV show with fellow housemate John James with who she had struck up a relationship.

The fly-on-the-wall style documentary was called Josie and John James: What Happened Next. But it was short-lived as the couple split up in 2011.

In May that year, she appeared in the three-part reality TV series called There's Something About Josie.

Josie lost weight in 2012 and released a workout DVD in 2013 which proved to be such a hit with fans that in 2013 she released another called Josie Gibson: 30 Second Slim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So1-LAjmQdY

And that's not the only product Josie released, she even had a perfume called 'Josie' and launched limited edition hoodie tops on her official website.

She also became a spokesmodel for Curvissa Clothing, did an implied nude photoshoot in August 2011, and was the face of a teeth whitening company.

In 2017 she faced her fears by signing up to take part in The Jump but became the first celebrity to be eliminated after she refused to take part in the live ski jump.

But since 2019 viewers know her as one of the regular presenters of some This Morning segments after starting out as a competition announcer on the show, like Alison Hammond. And she proved a hit with viewers filling in for Holly at the last minute that bosses promoted her to be one of the stars who is ready to stand in for the main hosts.

Where does Josie Gibson come from?

Josie Gibson comes from Bristol. She attended Brimsham Green School in Yate but she was reportedly kicked out for bad behavior and went on to attend Ridings high school.

Josie now lives in the countryside between Bath and Bristol and can usually be seen playing Dosh on Your Doorstep - which is the other main competition aside from Spin to Win.

In September 2018, Josie gave birth to her son, Reggie-James, who is now three. She shares him with her ex-partner Terry who she was dating when she announced she was pregnant but the couple split up three months after Reggie-James was born.

Speaking about juggling childcare with work, Josie explained, "He’s at nursery on Wednesdays and Thursdays and then my mum has him on a Friday. I work three days a week and then I have him the rest of the time."

Josie is good friends with her ex for the sake of their son, she admitted, "It’s all amicable. And he’s a brilliant dad. He idolises Reg and Reg idolises him. It’s a shame it didn’t work out with us but actually, he dedicates his time to Reg, so Reg gets the best of both of us. I got brought up without a dad and I wouldn’t want that for my little boy."

And while Josie wishes she'd had children when she was younger, she added, "I said that if I had the time I’d adopt to give Reggie a brother or a sister. I love kids. I wish I’d started earlier. I’d have had about 10! I was late to the party [with motherhood], but I love it."

Josie is currently single and is open to dating again. She said, "It would be nice to be taken out for dinner by someone! But I couldn’t give them anything else. [Laughs] I just want someone to give me maybe a little bit of attention... And dinner!

"But they’ve got to pay. But my son is too young. I’m really quite funny about that. I don’t like people in my son’s circle."

How did Josie Gibson lose weight?

Josie Gibson lost six stone in the space of a year with the combination of healthy eating and exercise after joining WW (formerly Weight Watchers) to overhaul her lifestyle - this included following a healthy diet, drinking more water and doing 30-45 minutes of exercise.

She previously admitted, “I put on around four-and-a-half stone while I was pregnant with my son, Reggie – who's now two – though.”

She shared a clip of her weight loss and told fans, "Hello guys, I cannot tell you how happy I am. You know, all these lockdowns, the pandemic has been very stressful.

"How I handle stress is I eat. I’ve always done it and I went up to a size 18.

She continued, "You just get to the point where you look in the mirror and don’t even recognise who you’re looking at anymore."

"I was an 18, this morning I’ve just squeezed on a pair of size 14s. I’m so happy, so happy.

"Don’t get me wrong, they’re a bit tight, but to go from a size 18… these did not fit me before and to squeeze back into my 14s, I haven’t been doing it that long," Josie added.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNVe5y8h6gG/?utm_source=ig_embed

Josie revealed that her target was to get down to a size 12 and she plans to do this with more exercise.

“I will be honest, I should have trained more, mainly diet with me, so much going on.”

But she celebrated what she's achieved so far by jumping up and down on her bed.

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV from 10am-12.30pm.