Gogglebox

Gogglebox is a British television reality show that premiered on Channel 4 on 7 March 2013. The programme features a number of families and groups of friends from different places around the United Kingdom who react to television programmes from their own homes. Gogglebox was narrated from its launch on 7 March 2013 until 8 April 2016 by Caroline Aherne. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014, which led to her death on 2 July 2016. Craig Cash regularly filled in for Aherne when she was unavailable and took over the role as narrator permanently on 15 April 2016. The show won a BAFTA award in 2014[8] and a National Television Award in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Gogglebox
Genre	Reality Reaction
Created by	Stephen Lambert Tania Alexander[1]
Directed by	Tania Alexander (2013-2020) Mike Cotton (2020-) Tom Hutchings (2013)[2] Jon Cahn (2013)[3] Kayleigh Damen (2013)[4] James Bainbridge (2013)[5]
Creative directors	Tania Alexander (2013-2020) Tim Harcourt Mike Cotton (2020-)
Narrated by	Caroline Aherne (2013–2016) Craig Cash (2013–)
Opening theme	"Perfect World" and "Brand New Day" by Kodaline
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	16
No. of episodes	248, including spinoffs (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Tania Alexander (2013-2020)[6] Leon Campbell Mike Cotton (2020-)[6]
Camera setup	Dual cameras
Running time	50 minutes (series 1–2) 60 minutes (series 3–)
Production company	Studio Lambert[7]
Distributor	All3Media
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Picture format	16:9
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	7 March 2013 – present
External links
Website
Production website

A version of the show featuring children, titled Gogglesprogs, launched as a Christmas special on Christmas Day 2015, and was followed by a full-length series which began airing on 17 June 2016.[9] In 2017, a spin-off show titled Vlogglebox aired on E4, which featured reactions from 16 to 24-year-olds as they watch online content on their smartphones, laptops or tablets.[10] In 2019, it was announced that a celebrity version had been ordered; Celebrity Gogglebox began airing in 2019, and it was later renewed for a second series which aired in 2020. In December 2020, it was confirmed that Series 17 would begin airing in February 2021,[11] and on 3 February, the air date was confirmed to be 26 February 2021.

Production

The programme is a production of Studio Lambert, a company run by British media executive Stephen Lambert, who was behind other Channel 4 programmes such as Faking It, Wife Swap, Undercover Boss and The Secret Millionaire. Director of Factual Entertainment for Studio Lambert Tania Alexander, the executive producer and person responsible for the TV series from 2013 to 2020, said the original idea was for the programme to be a "mix of Harry Hill and The Royle Family" but with real people.[12]

The Creative Director for Studio Lambert Tim Harcourt had the original idea for the programme while watching the London riots,[13][14] and along with Alexander devised the format for the show. They wondered what people were talking about while watching the news and came up with the idea of cutting between people watching the same TV programmes.[15][16]

Farah Ramzan Golant, the boss of All3Media, said: "Everyone loves watching TV and talking about TV. But the show isn't really about TV. The show is about people's lives, their relationships, their living rooms and the way children and parents talk about TV. It's near real-time because you're watching what happened in the seven days before. That's quite priceless. It captures a cultural response to something that's happening in the world. Gogglebox shows TV in people's living rooms is alive and well and thriving. It is asserting the indispensable role of TV in the fabric of people's lives."[7]

On 26 November 2020, it was announced abruptly by Studio Lambert that Alexander would be leaving as an executive producer on Gogglebox Mid-way through Series 16, after 7 years working on the show. Mike Cotton, Studio Lambert’s deputy creative director would oversee the remainder of the series and for the foreseeable future, along with Gogglebox’s other executive producer Leon Campbell.[6]

Filming

The programme is filmed in the viewers' homes, by two small HD remote-control cameras[17] known as "hot heads", operated by a small team elsewhere in the home that have set up a temporary production control room; the team consists of a producer/director, gallery operator, assistant, audio engineer, researcher (for live logging) and a runner.[18]

Cast

This is a list of cast members currently appearing in the programme.

Cast members	Series	Year
Stephen Webb	1–	2013–
Siddiqui family (Sid, Umar, Bassit, Raza)	1–	2013–
Michael family (Andrew, Carolyne, Louis, Alex and Katie)	1–4, 6–	2013–2014, 2015–
Linda and Pete Mcgarry	2–3, 7–	2013–2014, 2016–
Malone family (Tom, Julie, Tom Jnr and Shaun)	4–	2014–
Jenny and Lee	4–	2014–
Giles Wood and Mary Killen	5–	2015–
Ellie and Izzi Warner	6–	2015–
Dave and Shirley	6–	2015–
Plummer family (Tremaine, Twaine and Tristan)	8–	2016–
Mary and Marina	8–	2016–
Amira and Iqra (Iqra Replaced By Amani from Series 12– )	10–	2017–
Worthington Family (Alison, George and Helena)	10–	2017–
Pete and Sophie Sandiford	10–	2017–
Marcus and Mica	11–	2018–
Abbie and Georgia	12–	2018–
Daniel Lustig-Webb	13–	2019–
Paige and Sally	13–	2019–
Sue and Steve	14–	2019–
Anne and Ken	15–	2020–
Walker Family (Chantelle, Monique and Elizabeth)	16–	2020–
Baggs Family (Terry, Lisa, Joe and George)	16–	2020–

Other appearances

As well as appearing on Gogglebox, some of the cast members have competed in other reality series, including Celebrity Big Brother, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, The Jump, Celebs Go Dating and Celebrity Masterchef

• Celebrity Big Brother
  • George Gilbey – Series 14 (2014) – Fourth[19]
  • Sandi Bogle – Series 20 (2017) – Ninth
• The Jump
  • Dominic Parker – Series 2 (2015) – Fifteenth[20]
• I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
  • Scarlett Moffatt – Series 16 (2016) – Winner[21]
• Celebs on the Farm
  • Sandi Bogle – Series 1 (2018) – Seventh
• Celebs Go Dating
  • Amy Tapper – Series 5 (2018)[22]
• Celebrity Masterchef
  • Dominic Parker – Series 14 (2019) – Fifth[23]

Episodes

Series		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	4		7 March 2013	28 March 2013
	2	13		25 September 2013	18 December 2013
	3	12		7 March 2014	23 May 2014
	4	12		26 September 2014	19 December 2014
	5	12		20 February 2015	8 May 2015
	6	15		11 September 2015	18 December 2015
	7	17		19 February 2016	10 June 2016
	Gogglesprogs 1	6		17 June 2016	22 July 2016
	8	12		23 September 2016	16 December 2016
	9	15		24 February 2017	2 June 2017
	Gogglesprogs 2	6		9 June 2017	14 July 2017
	Vlogglebox	6		18 June 2017	23 July 2017
	10	15		8 September 2017	15 December 2017
	11	15		23 February 2018	1 June 2018
	12	15		7 September 2018	14 December 2018
	13	15		22 February 2019	31 May 2019
	Celebrity 1	6		14 June 2019	20 December 2019
	14	15		13 September 2019	3 January 2020
	15	15		21 February 2020	29 May 2020
	Celebrity 2	7		5 June 2020	17 July 2020
	16	15		11 September 2020	8 January 2021
	17	TBA		26 February 2021	TBA

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Result
BAFTA TV Award for "Reality & Constructed Factual Programme"	2014	Won
BAFTA TV Award for "Radio Times Audience Award"	2014	Nominated
Broadcasting Press Guild for "Best Factual Entertainment Programme"[24]	2014	Won
National Television Award for "Factual Programme"	2015	Won
TV Choice Award for "Factual Entertainment Show"	2015	Won
National Television Award for "Factual Programme"	2016	Won
BAFTA TV Award for "Reality & Constructed Factual Programme"	2016	Nominated
TV Choice Award for "Lifestyle Show"	2016	Won
Radio 1's Teen Award for "TV Show"	2016	Won
National Television Award for "Factual Entertainment"	2017	Won
Diversity in Media Awards for "TV Programme of the Year"	2017	Won
National Television Award for "Factual Entertainment"	2018	Won
National Television Award for "Factual Entertainment"	2019	Nominated
National Television Award for "Factual Entertainment"	2020	Nominated
I Talk Telly Awards for "Best Factual Entertainment Programme"	2020	Won

International versions

Australian version

An Australian edition of the programme debuted on 11 February 2015. It is a co-production between pay TV provider Foxtel and commercial Network Ten. It airs on Foxtel's Lifestyle Channel first and is repeated 24 hours later on Ten.[25] The programme started its second season on 30 September 2015,[26] and its third season in 2016. It is currently in it's 12th season as of October 2020.

American and Canadian versions

Canadian (Bell Media),[27] and American broadcasters. The American and Canadian versions, both called The People's Couch, premiered on Bravo on 10 March 2014 (although a three-episode pilot run was aired in October 2013) and Bravo (Canada) in July 2014.[7][28][29]

A celebrity version, called Celebrity Watch Party, premiered on Fox 7 May 2020.[30]

Gogglebox around the world

  Currently airing

  No longer airing

Country	Name	Channel	Date aired	Series
Australia	Gogglebox Australia	Lifestyle (Pay TV) Network 10 (Free-to-air)	11 February 2015 – present	Series 1, 2015 Series 2, 2015 Series 3, 2016 Series 4, 2016 Series 5, 2017 Series 6, 2017 Series 7, 2018 Series 8, 2018 Series 9, 2019 Series 10, 2019 Series 11, 2020 Series 12, 2020
Belgium	Vu à la télé	RTL-TVI	19 October 2014 – present	Series 1, 2014 Series 2, 2015 Series 3, 2015 Series 4, 2016 Series 5, 2016 Series 6, 2017 Series 7, 2017
	Hallo televisie!	Eén	6 January 2015 – 1 January 2016	Series 1, 2015 Series 2, 2016
Finland	Sohvaperunat	Yle TV2	27 February 2015 – present	Series 1, 2015 Series 2, 2016 Series 3, 2017 Series 4, 2017 Series 5, 2018 Series 6, 2018 Series 7, 2019 Series 8, 2019 Series 9, 2020
France	Vu à la télé	M6	18 October 2014 – 20 December 2014	Series 1, 2014
Germany	Wohnzimmerhelden	Sat.1	16 December 2014 – 23 December 2014	Series 1, 2014
	Sofa Star	RTL Television	1 January 2015 – 30 January 2015	Series 1, 2015
Ireland	Gogglebox Ireland	TV3/Virgin Media One	22 September 2016 – present	Series 1, 2016 Series 2, 2017 Series 3, 2017 Series 4, 2018 Series 5, 2019 Series 6, 2020
Israel	Tadliku (תדליקו)	Channel 2	12–20 June 2014	Series 1, 2014
Italy	Gogglebox Italia	Italia 1	23 October 2016 – 4 June 2017	Series 1, 2016 Series 2, 2017
New Zealand	Gogglebox NZ[31]	Three	19 September 2018 – present	Series 1, 2018 Series 2, 2019
Norway	Sofa	NRK	23 October 2014 – present	Series 1, 2014 Series 2, 2015 Series 3, 2016 Series 4, 2017
Poland	Gogglebox. Przed telewizorem	TTV	6 September 2014 – present	Series 1, 2014 Series 2, 2015 Series 3, 2015 Series 4, 2016 Series 5, 2016 Series 6, 2017 Series 7, 2017 Series 8, 2018 Series 9, 2018 Series 10, 2019 Series 11, 2019 Series 12, 2020
Slovenia	Bognedaj, da bi crknu televisor	Planet TV	September 2014 – 19 June 2016	Series 1, 2014 Series 2, 2015 Series 3, 2015 Series 4, 2016
South Africa	Gogglebox South Africa	Sony Channel	3 March 2016 – 5 May 2016	Series 1, 2016
Spain	Aquí mando yo	Antena 3	15 April 2016	Series 1, 2016
United States  Canada	The People's Couch	Bravo	10 March 2014 – 26 May 2016	Series 1, 2014 Series 2, 2014 Series 3, 2015 Series 4, 2016
United States	Celebrity Watch Party	Fox	7 May 2020 – 23 July 2020	Series 1, 2020

References

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8. "BAFTA's view from the other side of the screen". Daily Telegraph. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
9. "C4 follow up Xmas Gogglebox Kids special with series order". Channel 4. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
10. Houghton, Rianne (30 May 2017). "Gogglebox gets a teenager spin-off called Vlogglebox". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
11. "When is Gogglebox back on? 2021 release date and cast revealed". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
12. McNulty, Bernadette (18 December 2013). "Gogglebox: the TV show making Britain feel great". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
13. Methven, Nicola (22 August 2014). "Gogglebox axe for Celebrity Big Brother star George Gilbey and family". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
14. Arrow, Platinum. "Tim Harcourt". www.studiolambert.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
15. Methven, Nicola (22 August 2014). "George Gilbey's family AXED from Gogglebox due to CBB appearance". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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19. Greenwood, Carl (12 September 2014). "Celebrity Big Brother final: George Gilbey evicted after SNOGGING Edele Lynch". Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
20. Walker, Danny (27 January 2015). "Gogglebox star Dom Parker INJURED in crash on The Jump". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
21. "I'm a Celeb: Scarlett is crowned Queen of the Jungle". Daily Mirror. 4 December 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
22. Houghton, Rianne; Seddon, Dan (18 October 2018). "Celebs Go Dating's Amy Tapper has awkward first date". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
23. Darvill, Josh (9 October 2019). "Celebrity MasterChef 2019 results and contestants line up". TellyMix. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
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External links

• Gogglebox at Channel 4
• Gogglebox at IMDb