Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and This Morning star Josie Gibson, 39, is certainly keeping busy – with a new Christmas show on Channel 4, a luxury travel show on Channel 5 and a huge campaign with Tombola bingo.
Here she talks tips for jungle newbies, a crippling fear of spiders and how it’s all about lounging around in silk pyjamas…
Hey Josie, what are you up to?
I’ve been in my silk pyjamas all day. I know! Who do I think I am these days? But all week I’ve been filming a brand new show with Channel 4 called The Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide with me, Josie Gibson!
Did you get any gifts out of it?
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Not one! I got home and I was doing an online shop for the gifts that were on the show because they had to keep them to shoot them.
Will you be watching I’m a Celebrity…?
Are you kidding?
Are you jealous of them or are you, “Thank God I can watch in my silk PJs?“
I’m, ‘Thank God I can watch in silk pyjamas.’ Don’t get me wrong, what an incredible experience but, for me, you know when people go in and say, ‘Oh I’m afraid of spiders’? Well, mine’s an actual proper phobia so that ruined it a bit for me – I was terrified. And out there, the spiders are on steroids, as big as your head!
What advice would you give to someone about to go in?
I would say, ‘Expect the worst.’ It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be but in my series it did rain a lot. Just don’t think this is a TV studio with a bit of greenery – this is the real jungle and you’re sharing it with venomous snakes, spiders that bite and stuff like that.
You had an encounter with a spider…
Yeah. I made myself look like a right idiot. They tried to put me in a box with a spider and it came up behind me… They said they’ve never seen anyone move so fast. I nearly gave myself a splinter getting out of that box. I think I started crying it was that bad.
Who was in there with you?
So there was me, Danielle Harold from EastEnders, Nigel Farage, Sam Thompson, Nick Pickard from Hollyoaks, Grace Dent,Jamie Lynn Spears, she was so nice. I got on with all of them. Oh and we had Fred Sirieix from First Dates. Everyone thinks we don’t get on but we do. In the jungle, you’ve only got each other so you’ve got to get on.
What were the bad bits about the show?
When I was on the dunny once I thought, ‘What is that big black thing?’ It was huge and I couldn’t work it out so I ran out of there and it was a spider and the body was bigger than my fist.
And the worst thing you had to eat?
Kangaroo tail. Or a crocodile’s foot.
Do you keep up with your campmates?
We’ve got a WhatsApp group so we communicate in there from time to time but we’re all so busy. But I work with Sam, because he’s on This Morning with us.
You won Big Brother. Is it different to be shacked up with regular people rather than celebs?
No, I don’t think it is. For me, Big Brother was a lot easier and that’s because I didn’t have a little boy. When you’re in the jungle, I probably wasn’t the best version of myself because I was missing Reg so much. As soon as you land, you get your chaperone, you get to make your last phone call and they take your phone off you and that’s it, no communication with anyone for a whole month.
Did you think you could win I’m A Celeb?
Because of my fear of spiders, I knew I wouldn’t… I thought I’d be one of the first out. My jungle mates were brilliant – they knew not to put me up for tasks because of my phobia – but I wish I’d cured my phobia before I went.
What else is going on for you?
I’ve been filming a luxury travel show for Channel 5, out next year. I’ve been everywhere, babes… it’s all about luxury but we have found some of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in on a budget, too.
Your Tombola campaign is about everyday things we all hate doing. What’s yours?
More Trending
Research done by Tombola shows number one is cleaning the toilet, but for me it’s cleaning out the junk box from my emails. I’ve joined their campaign called Open For Fun, where they’ve put QR codes all around major cities. So if you want to work on your step count and win prizes…
Are you a bingo girl, yourself?
I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I bought my first ever car with my bingo winnings!
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Josie has partnered with Tombola, Britain’s biggest bingo site, on its Open For Fun campaign. Look out for QR codes across the UK to reveal hundreds of prizes @tombola_uk
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