Inside the ‘Gogglebox curse’ including heartbreaking deaths and ‘traumatic’ split

Gogglebox has been a staple on screen for years, but behind the scenes the cast has endured a lot of heartbreak.

Since the beloved Channel 4 programme began way back in 2013, it has introduced us to several iconic families up and down the country.

These include Giles Wood and Mary Killen in Wiltshire, the Siddiqui clan in Derby and newbies married couple Andrew and Alfie from the Cotswolds and mother-and-daughter-in-law team Sara and Lara from Yorkshire.

But over the years, some of its cast have had to endure the “curse of Gogglebox” which includes several relationship splits, disputes and some devastating deaths.

Heartbreaking Gogglebox splits

There have been several Gogglebox couples who have called it quits over the years. Recently, Roisin Kelly revealed her split from Joe Kyle. The pair joined the show in 2022 before being “brutally axed” from the hit series last year, after three years of sharing their TV opinions with the world.

And last month, Roisin posted a string of photos on Instagram, confirming that her relationship with her former co-star Joe was officially over. One snap showed her holding an envelope with the phrase, “an antidote for a broken heart”, while she could also be seen reading Robin Norwood’s book, Women Who Love Too Much.

Meanwhile in 2024, Stephen Lustig-Webb and his husband Daniel left fans stunned when they announced they had split after six years of marriage. Despite ending their romantic relationship, Stephen and Daniel continue to share a home.

Opening up about why their marriage broke down, Stephen disclosed that the couple both “switched off” towards the end of their relationship. He also reflected: “For me, it was traumatic and although I knew things weren’t great, I didn’t see it coming.” Stephen went on to label the breakup as “very upsetting” and “completely devastating”, admitting “it was awful”.

Another Gogglebox split includes Eve Woerdenweber and her boyfriend Jay Makin, also known as ‘Silent Jay’. They appeared on the show alongside her parents Ralf and Viv. In 2015 though, Eve and Jay called it quits, with Jay sharing his heartbreak during an interview with The Mirror, saying: “I’m gutted that Eve broke up with me. It came completely out of the blue.

“We 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 she couldn’t cope with it. She called after a big argument and said she didn’t want to go out with me anymore.”

Gogglebox stars who have died

The Gogglebox community has been rocked by several tragic deaths. In March 2024, former George Gilbey died aged 40 following a workplace accident.

George appeared on Gogglebox alongside his mum Linda McGarry and stepdad Pete McGarry. from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2018. Tragically, in 2024, he was killed after falling from a height at work.

A few years prior, in 2021, Mary Cook sadly died aged 92. She was originally on the show alongside friend Marina Wingrove from 2016 to 2021.

That same year, Andy Michael died aged 61. Andy was one of the show’s original cast members, appearing in the very first episode in 2013 along with the rest of his family. After his death following a short illness, the Michael family decided not to come back.

OG stars Leon and June Bernicoff were instant hits when they made their debut back in 2013. June left the show after 83-year-old Leon’s death in 2017. She went on to write her first book about their 60-year love, Leon And June, Our Story before her death aged 82 in 2020.

Gogglebox stars’ complaints about pay

Former stars have hit out at Gogglebox following their exit, including Paige Deville, who left the show in 2021 with her mum Sally. The TV personality blamed what she described as “low pay” for their exit. She and mum Sally reportedly got £100 for a nine-hour filming session which started at 3:30pm and ended after midnight.

“At one point my mum had her arm around me for four hours and they didn’t want her to move her arm. It isn’t as glamorous as you might think. It is very hard work,” she told Birmingham Live.

Gogglebox OG Reverend Kate Bottley also made claims that the pay was low. She appeared on the programme for five series before leaving in 2016.

On the Walking the Dog podcast, Kate claimed that they “got paid very little”. She said: “They paid but I cooked two nights a week for the crew.” She then said that she offered to cook because Graham “won’t eat takeaways” and she didn’t want to be filmed eating.

She said: “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. It’s a vicarage as well – I should be hospitable.

“We should be sharing our homes with people and eating food together and stuff. So y’know it was a good two and a half years but we couldn’t have done any more with it, I don’t think. It got to the point where we were just a bit overwhelmed.”

Meanwhile, Sandra Martin previously praised the pay she got for starring on the Channel 4 show, telling The Daily Mail: “It was the best wage I ever earned in my life and I got asked to do loads of celebrity appearances at events which Channel 4 would also pay me for.”

Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.