EVERY Friday night fans cosy up on the couch as they settle in for Channel 4âs heartwarming show, Gogglebox.
But over the years some of its loveable cast have been subjected to the so-called âcurse of Goggleboxâ, which includes several love splits, a tragic accident and even a sick pay scandal.
Gogglebox first hit our screens in 2013, and saw a bunch of regular Brits watching telly in their homes.
Despite the simplicity of the show, it became an instant hit and continues to be.
Fans just canât get enough of the cast giving their hilarious verdicts on shows that had been on TV that week.
However, despite the feel good show giving viewers a boost at the end of the week, behind-the-scenes some of the loveable cast have been marred by heartbreak, scandal and even death.
Here we delve into how some of the Gogglebox families have endured the so-called âcurseâ.
LOVE SPLITS
We kick off with the latest Gogglebox break-up which happened only this week.
On Monday, Roisin Kelly revealed she had split from her long-term boyfriend Joe Kyle.
The news came just months after they moved into their new home together.
Their break-up is also not long after the couple were axed from the show last year, with the programme choosing not to renew their screen time.
In 2024, popular Gogglebox star Stephen Webb and his husband Daniel Lustig announced their divorce.
The former couple thrilled fans when they wed in 2018, with their break-up coming as a shock.
A few months after their split, Daniel spilled the tea on what really caused their divorce and also the aftermath.
Speaking on podcast My Dirty Laundry in June 2024, he said âWe had a really good innings.
âIt was really good for a really long time and then it kind of petered off, and then we kind of decided the best thing was to end as friends.â
Stephen also suffered the âcurseâ six years before his split from Daniel.
In 2018, the hairdresserâs former sofa buddy â and ex-boyfriend â Chris Ashby-Steed, who had starred alongside him from the very first series, was suddenly no longer on the show.
His departure was a surprise as the pair were fan favourites during their five year run â but sadly things turned sour.
A year after he quit Gogglebox, Chris revealed how his relationship with Stephen had turned bitter, and the pair no longer speak.
Another big Gogglebox split was Silent Jay and Eve Woerdenweber.
The couple broke up in 2015, which led to Jayâs sudden disappearance from the sofa as he appeared on the show with his ex-girlfriendâs family.
At the time of the break up Silent Jay, who was notoriously not very talkative on Gogglebox, opened up to The Sun.
The Birkenhead-based TV star said:Â âIâm gutted that Eve broke up with me. It came completely out of the blue.
âWe had a few problems and started drifting apart but I thought it was down to the pressure of the show and her business. We argued too much and she said couldnât cope with it.
He added:Â âShe called after a big argument and said she didnât want to go out with me any more.
âEve said she still wants to be friends but hasnât spoken to me and has deleted me on Facebook. It really hurts, we were so close.â
TRAGIC ACCIDENTS
In 2024, the Gogglebox community was rocked when former star George Gilbey died aged 40 following a tragic accident in Essex
The star was killed when he fell to his death while at work in Southend-on-Sea.
George, who also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, had been âworking on a roof when he fell through a plastic skylight, landing on the ground below,â the Coroner said.
Paramedics and police attended but he died at the scene.
A year prior, another horrific accident in the Gogglebox family occurred when Ellie Warnerâs boyfriend was left in a âcritical conditionâ after being hit by a car in 2023.
Thankfully he is doing well now, after a long recovery.
SAD DEATHS
Gogglebox also saw a number of sad deaths in 2021.
The year was particularly difficult for the show, which sadly included the death of Georgeâs beloved step dad Pete McGarry, who passed away from bowel cancer.
Also in 2021, Mary Cook passed away aged 92, leaving fans devastated.
That same year, Gogglebox also lost Andy Michael, who sadly died aged 61.
PAY SCANDALS
In 2021, Paige Deville shocked fans when she announced her and her mum Sally were quitting Gogglebox.
However, she then went on a rant at the show about âzero aftercareâ and blamed the âlow payâ for the reason for their exit.
The star claimed that the cast are paid roughly ÂŁ100 for gruelling 9-hour filming sessions, which started at 3.30pm and ended after midnight.
âAt one point my mum had her arm around me for four hours and they didnât want her to move her arm. It isnât as glamorous as you might think. It is very hard work,â she told Birmingham Live.
Low pay was also echoed by Gogglebox OG Reverend Kate Bottley, who was on the show for five seasons with her husband Graham.
The former cast member, who left the show in 2016, later revealed the show was âintrusiveâ and that she was âpaid very littleâ â and even added that she was âexpected to provide meals for the crewâ.
Kate, who now presents on BBC Radio 2, revealed she ultimately gave a fake excuse to step away from the hit Channel 4 series â but had no intention of ever coming back.
Spilling the tea on the Walking the Dog podcast last year, the vicar said: âThey paid, but I cooked two nights a week for the crew⊠all the money we got from it went on the electricity, the internet connection that they were using, and the food and being hospitable to six people in my home two nights a week.
âItâs a vicarage as well, I should be hospitable. We should be sharing our home to people, and eating food together.â
Meanwhile, last year Sid Siddiqui faced a sick pay scandal.
It came when it was revealed he had been signed off from his NHS job for stress, but continued to film Gogglebox.
At the time it was revealed that the NHS reportedly gave the pensioner permission to continue with the show which he has appeared on as a regular since 2013.
It was also previously revealed how Gogglebox legend Scarlett Moffattâs mum once stole ÂŁ50K from her to fund her gambling habit.
SECRET ORGIES
Boozy Steph and Dom Parker were one of the standout favourite sofa-dwellers when Gogglebox first hit our screens.
But they were also at the centre of the showâs first attention-grabbing scandal.
In 2014, it was revealed that their £3.5million mansion in Sandwich, Kent, had been hired out for an upmarket masked orgy.
More than 60 guests from a private swingersâ club drank champagne at their residence before romping all night after sex club Killing Kittens paid out ÂŁ1,700 for the night.
A spokesperson for the couple at the time confirmed that Steph and Dom were not at the house when the sex party took place â and thankfully, neither were the Gogglebox cameras.
