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Big Brother winner Josie Gibson has stated that she was "thrown to the sharks" after appearing on the reality show, receiving countless death threats and weight jibes online.

The Bristolian, who now boasts a 26-inch waist after a dramatic weight loss, said that taking part in the final Channel 4 series in 2010 "wasn't a positive thing".

"When I came out of the Big Brother house, it felt like I was being fed to the sharks," she told Ok. "It's only now that I'm enjoying it, now that I know myself.

"When I first got out, I got really badly taunted about my weight - I knew I would. I had death threats on Twitter.

"People think that just because you're in the public eye, you haven't got feelings. So it's just lovely to put two fingers up to them now."

Gibson added that her weight even prompted accusations that her relationship with Big Brother co-star John James Parton had been faked.

"When I look at me in Big Brother, I was so fat - but at the time, you don't realise," she said. "But when you enter the media, you realise how big you are. Also, I had a relationship in the house. No-one believed we were real, because I was so fat."

Gibson also confirmed that discovering fiancé Luke Sanwo's friends had been "taking the piss" out of her figure motivated her to get fit.

When I saw [bikini photos of me] I was shocked, because I didn't actually realise that I'd got that fat," she said.

"I asked Luke: 'Do I really look that fat?' and he just sighed. It came out later on that [his mates] were all taking the piss out of him down in the plumbing shop about that picture of me."

Gibson also vowed last year to improve her health by ending drink and drug binges.