I'm A Celebrity's Josie Gibson explains why she 'stuck with ITV' over Strictly

17 November 2023 , 11:36

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I'm A Celebrity's Josie Gibson explains why she 'stuck with ITV' over Strictly

I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here star Josie Gibson has been at the centre of speculation over recent weeks over reports that she turned down a rival TV show to take part in the Aussie jungle.

The 38 year old mum of one, who has been a staple on This Morning since the abrupt departure of Philip Schofield earlier this year, is said to have turned down offers to join Strictly Come Dancing. So when the Mirror caught up with the Bristol born TV personality last week, she decided to finally address the rumours that have been circulating for a while.

Josie Gibson address rumours of turning down Strictly Come Dancing

When asked if she had turned down offers to join a dancing show, she coyly said: "Well I cannot confirm or deny that! (laughing)" But she insisted that her loyalty with ITV is strong as they were the only broadcaster to give her a chance, which propelled her to become a national favourite.

And when asked why she chose I'm A Celeb, she said:" Well you know, ITV is my home. I'm an ITV face and ITV, give me this chance. And I would without ITV, I wouldn’t be where I am. So, yeah, that, you know, ITV really took a chance on me and they believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. So that's why I stuck with ITV."

But perhaps Josie may have bitten off more than she can chew as she has a laundry list of fears which she plans to force herself to deal with. She explained: "My fears are… how long have you got! I’m petrified of snakes, anything creepy crawlies, I wish I’d never watched Arachnophobia when I was younger and I’m not the biggest fan of heights. But my fear is that I didn’t throw myself at it, actually letting myself down."

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But when talking about her hopes she continued: "My hopes are that I’ve promised myself that even if I’m frightened to death, I'm going to give everything the best, the best I can do. I'm going to give everything my fullest. I’m going to put everything behind it because I feel like if you come to a job probably, then don't do it at all. So as long as I know that I've walked away from everything that I've been put up for, and I've done it to the best of my ability then I’ll be happy."

When Josie landed in Australia she was asked about the show but was keen to remain tight-lipped until she was allowed to confirm her latest career move. She told reporters she that she was attending an Australian weight -loss retreat. But in fact, Josie looks in great shape - and her secret appears to be weight training and running.

She went on to say: "Well I don't feel like I’m in great shape but before I knew I was doing this I did hire a personal trainer and we’ve been weight training. And then I've been running with my hairdresser Maurice and everyone thinks that we are an item! We put a picture of us on Instagram, but he's actually my hair stylist. He's amazing. And he takes me running. I've never been a runner but now I’ve been running a few 5Ks here and there."

She added: "It’s finding the time, because I am here, there and everywhere and then I’ve got Reggie. So it is I find it really, really hard just finding a bit of time for myself but I’ve been on top of it. The only thing I haven’t done and probably should have is got myself ready for this eating wise. But I haven't. I've been eating every meal like it's my last! … for a long time!"

Mark Jefferies at the I'm A Celeb camp