‘We drank vodka to calm our nerves!’ Gogglebox stars on 10 glorious, hilarious years
Ten years ago, Channel 4 debuted a show that allowed viewers to watch people on TV watching people on TV. To celebrate its anniversary, Gogglebox favourites – the Siddiquis, Giles and Mary, Pete and Sophie, Jenny and Lee – share their best moments, while narrator Craig Cash and the creators share the secrets to its success.
The origin story: ‘We said we’d have a jolly for six weeks’
Tim Harcourt (creative director, Studio Lambert) There was a huge trend for candid rigged shows in the early 2010s. There was One Born Every Minute, 24 Hours in A&E. During the London riots I thought: “It’d be really interesting to rig different houses and splice people reacting to the news and TV.”
Stephen Lambert (CEO, Studio Lambert) One of the exciting things was realising what an unusually intimate space it is, to be where people are watching TV on their sofas.
We all got excited about jumping in and out of the nation’s living rooms. And then week on week, we would see more of their lives. I remember Stephen saying: “Someone could be pregnant one week, then three weeks later be holding a
