Exclusive: Josie Gibson opens up on ‘traumatic’ I’m a Celeb experience

She may not be the Queen of the Jungle, but she's the queen of our hearts

Josie Gibson

by Sarah O’Byrne |
Updated on

With so much good telly these days, it’s hard to choose a favourite show. However, one rises above the rest in terms of star power, ratings and creepy crawlies— we’re talking, of course, about I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!.

The ITV producers really brought out the big guns when selecting the campmates this year, they've even secured the nation’s favourite WAG — also known as Wagatha Christie herself— Coleen Rooney, fresh off yet another court case against Rebekah Vardy. Joining Coleen is podcaster GK Barry, and X Factor’s ‘female boss’ Tulisa.

These celebs are joining a prestigious list of previous stars who tackled the jungle, and when we caught up with This Morning’s Josie Gibson we just had to ask her about her experience. Josie came in fourth place back in 2023, narrowly missing out on a spot in the final. If you ask us, she was robbed.

Josie Gibson
Josie was a fan-favourite campmate ©Imago

When asked what advice she has for the 2024 campmates, Josie essentially told them to brace themselves. ‘It was a lot harder than what I thought it would be, but you've got to remember, in my year it rained a lot. It rained so much, and I wasn't really prepared for how wet and damp it was going to be. But the beauty of it is amazing. And do you ever see tasks like that on any other show? It is amazing.’

Josie was in the jungle alongside JLS's Marvin Humes and Made in Chelsea's Sam Thompson, who was crowned King of the Jungle. She told Closer, ‘We’ve got WhatsApp groups. We all keep in touch and then when we see each other it’s so nice, because it's like you've been through this amazing but little bit traumatic and scary experience all at the same time, and all you had was each other. And so you've got this bond, which is quite incredible, really.’

Josie Gibson and Sam Thompson
Josie and Sam became close after the jungle ©Imago

Since leaving the jungle, Josie has partnered with tombola for their Open for Fun campaign, and thanks to Josie Christmas came early this year.

‘If you want a bit of adventure, a bit of a day out, we've hidden QR codes around the city, and if you find one, scan it and you could win prizes. We've got anything from vouchers to cash prizes, so you can have a little day out, get your step count up and try and find our tombola QR codes.’

Josie Gibson
Josie has teamed up with tombola for their ‘Open for Fun’ campaign ©tombola

Josie Gibson has partnered with tombola, Britain’s biggest bingo site, for their new ‘Open for Fun’ campaign. They’ve dropped QR codes across the UK, which people can open to reveal hundreds of free prizes, to find out more head to @tombola_uk Instagram page

WATCH Behind the scenes at Closer's gorgeous shoot with My Mum, Your Dad stars Jenny, Clare and Vicky

Sarah O'Byrne has been writing for heat and Closer since May 2023, and you couldn't pay her enough to go on I'm a Celeb and live off rice and beans.

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