Inside Jose Gibson’s call centre days: Why her first job processing insurance claims and ‘boozy’ work nights out are the secret to her success – as revealed by KATIE HIND

The arrival of a stunning new colleague has all the likely to leave even the most secure of females experience discombobulated.

So one could possibly envision that This Morning’s Josie Gibson has been fairly jittery considering the fact that Cat Deeley arrived to replace Holly Willoughby as the show’s major presenter previous thirty day period.

But even though the prolonged-limbed Brummie glamazon has unquestionably gained more than each viewers and her new bosses at ITV, I can reveal that down-to-earth Josie – who helped hold the ship steady soon after the torturous Phillip Schofield debacle still left the show’s bigwigs agonising around which presenters to retain the services of to exchange him and Willoughby – is now the new darling of ITV.

I’ve been advised they are browsing for a major new more function for her.

So captivated are they by the bubbly blonde, who now is the holiday break cover presenter for the flagship demonstrate, ITV’s director of television Kevin Lygo’s daughter is one particular of her agents. I’m told: ‘Kevin wants to look after Josie, he’s a massive enthusiast.’

The mystery to Josie’s star electricity, even so, was refined not for the duration of a long time of grind in backroom Television employment or finding out broadcast media – but, endearingly, in her initial task in a Bristol phone centre.

These who know her explain to me that Josie’s down-to-earth manner, which makes the network’s tens of millions of viewers so relaxed with her, was honed during her first career as a phone centre operative at insurance coverage business AXA’s headquarters in her home city.

It was a role which needed Josie – who was born and bred in Bristol and attended Brimsham Green Faculty in close by Yate, a city exactly where she still life – to approach health insurance policies promises, with shifts commencing at 7am and finishing as late as 11pm.

It is an unlikely location to start out, but people who knew her at the time say Josie was ‘a right hoot’ when she started working there aged 19.

As giggly then as she is currently, 1 previous colleague recalls how she was usually the one who was top the demand to socialise.

‘Josie was a right laugh, she was enjoyment and actually charming,’ says a previous colleague.

‘She was at the centre of every thing and would always be up for socialising. There would be get the job done nights out the place points would get boozy.

‘She was hard-performing but she understood how to delight in herself. But we in no way noticed her attaining what she has these days. It is amazing.

‘She didn’t even appear to be like she needed to be specifically well-known back then.’

And, potentially ironically offered how her daily life mapped out, Josie, now 39, would though her lunch hour absent by clicking on MailOnline the place she would read the hottest superstar gossip in depth – and then invest the afternoon discussing it with colleagues.

‘We would all sit there studying the sidebar,’ states Josie’s close friend. ‘Then we would all have a ideal gossip, she liked it.’

All that bouncy exciting was nicely on demonstrate when Josie arrived at the Huge Brother property back in 2010, substantially to the shock of her contact centre colleagues. Topped series winner with an unparalleled 77 per cent of the public vote, the public right away took to her.

But when a lot of BB winners have tried using to make it after their location in the limelight, few have managed to carve out a reliable job.

Just after working as a roving reporter and competitiveness announcer on This Morning, she received her significant split masking Holly Willoughby some two and a 50 percent years ago.

Irrespective of her riches – like a £100,000 pay out test from ITV when she starred on I am A Celeb final wintertime – she has vowed never to leave Bristol.

It really is not the usual conduct of most tv stars, particularly a person who has loved these types of a productive 12 months.

But insiders say the fact that Josie is open up and ‘ordinary’ means ITV bosses ‘adore her’ – as properly as the fact that she assisted the demonstrate in its worst hour.

Past July she was tasked with the most important obstacle in This Morning’s 35-12 months heritage – to switch the scandal-strike Phillip Schofield and sit along with Holly as co-presenter. 

No simple endeavor, contemplating her overall look adopted Schofield quitting the channel following he admitted owning an affair with a significantly youthful colleague from the programme. Then, subsequent Holly’s departure past Oct, Josie stepped in to cover her while the show’s other stand-in host, Alison Hammond, was in pantomime.

Supporters grew to adore Josie even extra, and a lot of – including some ITV bosses – desired her to get the gig entire time.

Some fans even now refuse to watch the present due to the fact Cat received the task.

For Josie even though, it was a dream she knew she was under no circumstances going to obtain – even although, arguably, she deserved it.

At to start with, Josie capitalised on her Massive Brother level of popularity by promoting themed merchandise, which include a perfume named Josie. She also sold hoodies and tops, became an ambassador for Curvissa clothes and began a profession in showbusiness journalism.

In 2011, she highlighted on the Channel 5 exhibit Alright! Television set as a reporter and presenter right before the display was cancelled at the end of the same year. A 12 months afterwards, she turned a columnist for movie star journal Now.

She has because been open about her struggles with her weight and has dropped 6 stone because finding fame – some thing which has appealed to This Morning’s feminine audience.

Other Television roles saw her on ITV’s Free Girls, as perfectly as her individual fact reveals like There is certainly Anything About Josie.

Regardless of her professional success, individual happiness even now would seem to elude her. She did set tongues wagging final weekend when she was caught keeping hands with fellow television star Stephen Mulhern, 47, pursuing the finale of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Evening Takeaway in which they both of those starred.

Rumours of a romance adopted and when subsequently asked about their relationship position, Josie told MailOnline: ‘I’m in enjoy with Stephen Mulhern. There you go. But tale of my daily life, I will not believe he enjoys me.’

Her lovers instantly took to social media, hoping that by some means really like would come fantastic for Josie. In truth, those people who check out Josie on Tv set are determined to see her settle down.

A single ITV insider who screens social media posts relating to onscreen talent tells me: ‘You will see masses of individuals eager to see Josie uncover appreciate.

‘Those watching at property truly feel like she is one particular of their close friends and get especially invested with her happiness. It’s wonderful.’

For all her sweet mother nature, the fact is that Josie has not experienced substantially good results when it will come to romance.

When in the Big Brother house she fell for her Aussie housemate, John James. The pair strike it off on the show and dated for just less than a calendar year afterwards. Josie was heartbroken when their marriage finished.

Her future beau was plumber Luke Sanwo. He popped the problem in 2012, just six months following meeting, but the pair determined to go their different ways in April 2015.

Up coming up was assets developer and relatives good friend Terry (whose surname has never ever been disclosed). They commenced courting in 2017 following figuring out just about every other for two many years. The pair then welcomed a very little boy, Reggie, who was born in September 2018, but just five months later on it was declared that they experienced split.

Previous August, Josie opened up about her existing romantic relationship position, insisting: ‘I’m nonetheless solitary. I could not pull a cracker.’

Soon later on, even though, she prompted a great deal exhilaration among her followers following admitting she was in the early phases of a romance, stating: ‘There is somebody in my existence at the instant but it’s early phases… I have mentioned I love you.

‘It’s very best to just get it out of the way, I do not like playing game titles.’

Lovers were being certain that she was dating cameraman Sam Morter immediately after she shared a picture of them keeping arms although on a work in Paris, but she later on mentioned they ended up just friends.

Clearing up the speculation, she later claimed: ‘I am not in a romance, neither am I in enjoy with cameraman Sam. I am not with Sam Morter… I enjoy Sam Morter, he is my get the job done colleague, I am like his older sister. I’m like his auntie. That’s as far as it goes.’

For now, Josie has a single precedence: her son, Reggie. I am A Celeb viewers watched her pine for him even though she was in the jungle for three weeks, just before she sooner or later finished the clearly show in fourth position.

1 close friend tells me: ‘Josie enjoys work but she loves Reggie much more. She constantly claims that he is the only man for her.’

As for what is actually up coming for her job, ITV insiders say it can be one thing significant.

‘Josie is a rankings driver. She are not able to consider her success. To her it is mad, particularly when you search at how she started her performing lifestyle in a simply call centre.

‘Now, she enjoys studying about herself on MailOnline.’

And if there was at any time a evaluate of how considerably she has occur, that is it.