These days Josie Gibson is one of the most recognised faces on TV - but before she got her big break, she did a very different job.
Years before Josie shot to fame after winning Big Brother in 2010, the 39-year-old worked in a call centre. And former colleagues of the star say this is where the West Country girl honed her down-to-earth manner that continues to impress TV bosses now. So much so, they are reportedly planning a new role for her at the channel.
Before becoming a presenter, Josie’s life was a far cry from the glamour of showbiz she enjoys now and she processed insurance claims at AXA’s headquarters in her hometown of Bristol, where she still lives with five-year-old son Reggie.
It was a hard slog as shifts would begin at 7am and could finish as late as 11pm. But pals say Josie, who was 19 when she worked there in her very first job, was a “right hoot” even then and was always the one organising boozy nights out.
Recalling what Josie was like back then, one former colleague told MailOnline: “Josie was a right laugh. She was fun and really lovely. She was hard-working, but she knew how to enjoy herself. But we never saw her achieving what she has today. It’s amazing. She didn’t even seem like she wanted to be particularly famous back then.” And now Josie’s star could be set to rise even further as the Mail reports TV bosses are getting searching for a huge new role for her a she is now the ‘darling of ITV ’.
As well as her TV work, Josie was recently revealed as the new face of supermarket Iceland today. In the ad, Josie debuts the new strapline for the shop which is now "that's why we go to Iceland," rather than "that's why mums go to Iceland". The big brand deal will no doubt add to Josie’s fortune – and Kerry Katona reportedly earned £250,000 for the same job back in the Noughties.
She is now thought to be worth nearly £1 million in her own right after netting £100,000 when she won Big Brother, making more dosh with her own self-named perfume and a job as the presenter of Channel 5's OK! TV the same year. The star went on to appear in her own three-part reality series, There's Something About Josie and she became a reporter for Big Brother's Big On The Side.
Her list of TV appearances further include Celebrity Wedding Planner, Let's Do Lunch With Gino & Mel, The Wright Stuff, Celebrity Juice and Loose Women . And last year, Josie is thought to have bagged six figures to appear on ITV's I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! last year, finishing in fourth place.
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