Josie Gibson Debuts New ITV Series with Paul Ainsworth
Josie Gibson is set to debut Josie's Taste of the Westcountry with Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth, adding a new ITV series to a weekend schedule already built around familiar daytime names. The programme sends her into the Westcountry, where the pitch is food, place and local producers rather than studio chat.
Westcountry With Ainsworth
The new series will guide viewers through the Westcountry and focus on hidden gems, freshly sourced lunches, fine dining experiences and products from artisan makers and growers. For Gibson, that means a step beyond her long run as a guest presenter on This Morning and a format that leans on location work as much as presentation.
Paul Ainsworth brings the culinary credentials. Pairing a Michelin-starred chef with Gibson gives ITV a presenter-led food travel format that can sell on personality, expertise and regional identity at once, instead of relying on a single lane.
ITV's Weekend Line-up
ITV has announced a raft of new programmes set to air this year, and three This Morning regulars will feature prominently across fresh series and returning shows. Clodagh McKenna will front Clodagh: Cooking At Home, while Dermot O'Leary returns with the 10-part second series of Dermot's Taste of Ireland.
The first series of Dermot's Taste of Ireland aired in 2024 and attracted more than 3.3 million viewers across the UK. That figure shows ITV is not treating these programmes as filler; it is extending a format that already drew a mass audience and giving the weekend morning slot a food-and-travel identity.
Josie Gibson Since 2011
Gibson rose to prominence in 2011 after winning Big Brother, then spent several years as a guest presenter on This Morning. Fern Britton will return with Fern Britton: Inside The Vet's, Gary Barlow's Food and Wine Tour: New Zealand will return for a new season, and a third series of Ainsley's Fantastic Flavours is scheduled for 2026.
Leanne Clarke, ITV Entertainment and Daytime Commissioner, said: “We can all wake up to something special - brilliant presenters, delicious inspiration and expertise, a morning line-up that's a true weekend treat.”
For viewers, the practical change is simple: Gibson now has a named ITV vehicle built around the Westcountry, and the network is pairing her with a chef whose reputation signals ambition rather than a low-cost side project. If this slot lands, it gives ITV another repeatable weekend format to grow around her rather than another one-off appearance.
