For any mother, leaving a child at home to go to work is a heart-wrenching decision.
But for I’m A Celeb contestant Josie Gibson, taking part on the ITV reality programme means being away from her five-year-old son Reggie for at least three weeks.
The This Morning presenter – a single mum – has revealed her sadness at jetting off to Australia where she is being paid a six-figure sum to appear on the show while her only child stays at home.
Ms Gibson, 38, told the Mail of how she prepared to leave him: ‘I’ve done him a lot of videos before I left and also I’ve explained everything that I possibly can to him.
‘And I’ve been trying to explain that, since I signed up. So, each morning we’ve been waking up and he says ‘mummy are we going to Australia now?’
Sad: For I’m A Celeb contestant Josie Gibson, taking part on the ITV reality programme means being away from her five-year-old son Reggie for at least three weeks
Love: The This Morning presenter – a single mum – has revealed her sadness at jetting off to Australia where she is being paid a six-figure sum to appear on the show while her only child stays at home
‘And I go ‘not yet Reg’ and he’s going ‘when are we going into the jungle?’
‘So none of it has come as shock to him, he’s got his head around it.
‘It is going to be weird but there will be plenty of cuddles when I come out and at the end of the day this will better me and Reg and it’s all going to be good.
‘He’s going to be experiencing Australia while I’m going to be tucking down on mealworms.’
Reggie, who is used to sleeping with his mother every night, will travel Down Under after a couple of weeks into the show when friends and family are allowed to join but he will not be allowed to see her until she officially leaves.
Ms Gibson, who has turned down appearances in other primetime shows, said the ability for her son to travel out was ‘a big reason I agreed to do it because obviously to leave Reg is a big ask and commitment.’
She added: ‘ITV’s production team ring friends and family members each day to inform them what they will see their loved ones do, or if they get overly emotional, so they can hide it from their children.’
Ms Gibson had Reggie with a property developer named Terry, 53, who she knew for 20 years before giving birth to him.
Family: Ms Gibson had Reggie with a property developer named Terry, 53, who she knew for 20 years before giving birth to him
Caring: Ms Gibson, 38, told the Mail of how she prepared to leave him: ‘I’ve done him a lot of videos before I left and also I’ve explained everything that I possibly can to him’
Yay! Reggie, who is used to sleeping with his mother every night, will travel Down Under after a couple of weeks into the show when friends and family are allowed to join
She has been in the running to replace Holly Willoughby on this Morning and she admits that ITV’s faith in her is what prompted her to take part in the show.
The star said: ‘ITV is my home. I’m an ITV face and ITV, give me this chance.
‘And I would without ITV, I wouldn’t be where I am.
‘So, yeah, that, you know, ITV really took a chance on me and they believed in me when I didn’t even believe in myself. So that’s why I stuck with ITV.’