This Morning presenter Josie Gibson has spoken out about rumours of an apparent feud between her co-stars Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary following claims that the pair were 'bickering' on set.
Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have been presenting the ITV daytime show together every Friday since January 2021. The duo took over from married couple Holmes and Ruth Langsford who spent years hosting the programme together before they were replaced.
Alison, 47, and Dermot, 49, are also often seen presenting the show together during the holidays, such as Easter and summer, whilst Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield take a break. However, sources have previously claimed that the pair have clashed, bickered and struggled to ‘hit it off’ behind the scenes.
But fellow presenter Josie Gibson, who often takes over when one of the regular hosts are absent, has put the rumours of a feud to bed. The 37-year-old Big Brother winner insisted the pair "really do get on."
In an exclusive interview with OK!, Josie said: "Those two are like brother and sister. I don’t know what’s been written but they really do get on. Dermot worships Alison and Alison loves Dermot.”
Proving that their friendship is genuine away from the cameras, Josie even revealed that Alison recently bought Dermot a lavish gift, saying: “She bought him a lovely watch not long ago, and they go round each other’s houses for dinner.
“I can’t understand why people think this. They’re really comfortable with each other and when you’re on This Morning and they’re hosting, it is so relaxed."
The mum-of-one added: “You don’t buy people watches and go round their house if you don’t like them, do you?”
However, former Big Brother star Josie did admit that it’s hard for the This Morning family to catch up outside of the studio.
“We are all so busy,” she said. “We all message each other but it’s so busy being at This Morning, and being a working mum, it is difficult to pin everybody down. But, luckily, we do get to see each other at work.”
In November, Alison also told new, “We’ve all got our private lives. We see each other at work and that’s lovely, but with Covid, things have changed.”
It comes after reports that Alison and Dermot were “impatient with each other” and that there was “bickering and awkward tensions off-air”.
But ITV hit back, saying, “Despite the challenges of starting their on-screen partnership during a pandemic, Alison and Dermot have developed a firm friendship and their chemistry has proved a ratings success.”
It’s not the first time the duo have faced hiccups since forming a partnership.
Alison has previously revealed it felt like an “arranged marriage” and “it took about two months to feel comfortable”.
She added, “We told each other what we didn’t like. We had a few private chats and said, ‘Oh I don’t like this about you, and the other said, ‘Well I don’t like you when you do this.’”
Meanwhile, this summer, Josie will be taking over the reins of This Morning as regular hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby enjoy a well-deserved break.
“I’m nervous but very, very excited. I feel really honoured, it’s very nice to be asked,” Josie said, as she discussed her new presenting gig.
“If somebody would have told me I’d be presenting the biggest daytime show in the UK, I would have laughed like anything."
"It still hasn’t sunk in, it’s all very surreal. It feels like it’s not really happening to me. It’s so crazy, I can’t believe it’s happening to me.”
READ NEXT:
- Michael Owen reacts to daughter Gemma Owen lap dancing in ITV Love Island's racy heart rate challenge
- ITV Love Island fans all make the same comment about throwback photos of Michael Owen and Gemma Owen
- Viewers left 'heartbroken' and in tears after poignant BBC One Dame Deborah James documentary
- ITV Love Island viewers 'think they know' who will be dumped after twist
