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Marc Baker & Catherine Addison-Swan

Celebrity Gogglebox star claims she was 'sacked' from show after making nudity complaint

Dame Sheila Hancock has claimed that she was "not asked back" onto Gogglebox after complaining to bosses about the amount of nudity she had to watch during her time on the show.

The 90-year-old actress appeared alongside Gyles Brandreth on the Channel 4 series, which saw the pair subjected to watching the likes of dating show Naked Attraction. But the star claimed that showrunners were left "angry" when she requested to watch fewer shows with nudity.

Sheila told The Mirror: "I used to love doing it with Gyles, but they sacked me from that. Well, they did not ask me back.

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"I think it was because there were a lot of shows with penises in, and because it went down [well] with the audience, they kept showing them to us," she explained. "Eventually I phoned up the lady on the edit and said, 'I am enjoying the show, but do you think we can have anything other than penises?' and she was quite angry."

Sheila is the second star to have departed the show over the amount of nudity she was asked to watch, with Gyles Brandreth's former Gogglebox partner Maureen Lipman having parted ways with the series last year. Maureen told the Radio Times: "I went in imagining that they wanted me for my wit and my brain.

"Of course, they just want to show you willies and for you to be shocked. Honestly, we were really funny together, but none of that was used. And if they don't want to use what we gave them, f*** them."

In another interview, the 76-year-old actress said: "I thought: 'Well, actually, no, life is too short to watch a series of hopeless men dangle their bits and pieces in my direction. So I’m going'."

Although Sheila did not seem to be a fan of the likes of Naked Attraction, the star was full of praise for some of this year's best-loved dramas - including Happy Valley and Vera. "TV is extremely good in this country," she said.

"I loved Happy Valley. When we do it well, we do it bloody well. The writing and the last scene was unbelievable. I am so proud of my profession when I see work like that.

"Vera is also a wonderful bit of work. She [Brenda Blethyn] is bloody marvellous in that and the show is beautifully lit and shot. Now TV has come into its own and it is one of the most prestigious things to do."

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