Josie Gibson addresses missing out on This Morning job to Cat Deeley
Josie Gibson has broken her silence on losing out on the This Morning presenting gig to Cat Deeley. It was reported that the Bristol native felt "disheartened and disappointed" after not securing the full-time position earlier this year.
Despite having filled in for Holly Willoughby for several months, the former Celebrity Big Brother star, 39, was passed over in favour of Ben Shephard and Cat. Following the departure of Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from the hit ITV show last year, a rotating cast of guest presenters filled in, including the likes of the I'm a Celeb star, Craig Doyle, Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary, Rochelle Humes, and Rylan Clark.
Now, speaking to OK! in an exclusive interview about her hopes of taking over as the main presenter, she said: "The thing is, I actually feel like I am because I’m on This Morning, I’ve got my dream gig and I do a bit of everything. I do a bit in the studio, I can go on the road, do a competition. I’m an all-rounder I think. I love being able to do everything so, between us, I think I’ve got the best gig."
Josie also added: “On This Morning, I just love the support and they’ve been so good to me. They are like a proper family, like they’re friends. They’ve really got my back and I can’t thank them enough for that. It’s brilliant.”
A source previously told OK! that Alison Hammond was offered a full-time position instead of Josie, but opted to decline, not wanting the added responsibility.
Consequently, the decision was made for Cat to join the team on a permanent basis. A source revealed: "Alison was initially offered the full-time role on This Morning; however, she ultimately decided it wasn't the right fit for her."
"Alison loves her time on the show but she doesn't want the responsibility of being the main anchor. Alison likes to have multiple things going on and is already in huge demand elsewhere - with Love of Dogs and Bake Off - that takes up a lot of her time. Alison isn't worried about being overshadowed; she's happy with being a part of the show for one day."
Meanwhile, speaking about her future career aspirations, Josie told OK!: “I think I’m just going to stick as a TV presenter for now and really perfect my craft. Because every day as a TV presenter you’re perfecting your craft and you just want to get better and better, but that takes time.”