This Morning star Josie Gibson has gone back to the 1970s following a shock health scare – and her new routine is a far cry from her usual lavish lifestyle.
After being diagnosed with gout, the former Big Brother winner made a determined effort to improve her health, turning to vintage methods for her next TV challenge, The 1970s Diet.
Opening up about her diagnosis, Josie revealed: “I kept saying to the nurse, ‘ My toes keep hurting’. “I thought gout was only for old men, but I have been living quite a lavish life. Before I filmed this show, I caught a lot of flights, I drank a lot of champagne, I ate a lot of rich food, and I had little sleep. That’s how I ended up getting gout.”
Now the 40-year-old had gone from dining out at fashionable restaurants to living off ’70s dinnertime treats such as boiled potatoes, liver and spam. She added, “I’ve come from one extreme to the other. I went from living my finest life ever to being brought down to earth with a bang.”
South Gloucestershire-born Josie certainly enjoys the finer things in life, as evidenced by her glamour-filled Instagram account. The TV personality looked right at home fronting her recent Channel 5 show, Around The World In First Class, which saw her delve into the world of luxury travel.
Over the course of the show, which aired in February, Josie tried out various high-end travel experiences, from staying in a £16,000 per night Dubai hotel to being a guest on a private island in Sweden.
Opening up about the opportunity at the time, mum-of-one Josie said: “When I got the call, I thought this cannot be real. I thought it was a wind-up. I think it took me less than a second to say yes.
“If somebody had told the younger me that one day this would be my life, I would never have been able to believe it in a million years. It is better than I ever could have dreamed of. I don’t even want to sugar coat it – I’m jealous of me.”
As well as diving to an underwater sculpture park in Grenada, Josie enjoyed a floating breakfast in a private pool and flew first-class. Opening up about what it was like to fly like a superstar, Josie added: “When I was on the Virgin flight, it was like a party in the air. We were on our way to Grenada. I knew everybody in my First-Class lounge by the time we landed. We were at the bar.
“We were having a whale of a time. I also experienced First Class with Qatar, and they won the award for best airline in the world. I don’t care what anybody says when you are rich, and you are in these first-class places you get treated like Taylor Swift. My biggest worry though is how am I ever going to go back to turning right now I’ve experienced all these things?”
Although this trip was out of the ordinary for Josie, she’s certainly an individual who enjoys the finer things in life. From breathtaking holidays in Venice, from spending Sundays at Mayfair’s iconic Langan’s Brasserie restaurant, Josie has come a long way from the caravan holidays of her childhood.
Recalling these early experiences fondly ahead of her travel show, Josie, who remains down to earth despite her now glam lifestyle, remembered: “When we were younger, we didn’t really go on holidays. I’m one of six, so our holidays would have been in Brean or Butlin’s. I still go to those places now, mind. I’m still a fan.
“What my mum would do is put us in the back of the car and drive around for ages on the estate, so it felt like we were going somewhere really far, but we were just being dropped off at this little field up the road by the quarry in Rangeworthy. We would camp there, but when you’re a kid, it doesn’t matter, does it?
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.