Two of Gogglebox’s most familiar faces have revealed that their earnings from the show have helped them pay off their mortgage.
Married couple Giles Wood and Mary Killen have made regular appearances on the hit Channel 4 show since joining in series five in 2015.
Since then, they have become some of viewers’ favourite cast members on the show, where everyday families and friendship groups watch the week’s biggest TV moments and offer their frank commentary.
In an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s The Afternoon Show, the couple shared some insight into the positive aspects of appearing on the programme.
“I think we were able to pay off the mortgage,” Wood explained.
An artist, Wood went on to note that the pair “kept quiet, very quiet” about their earnings, adding: “I leave all the paperwork to Mary because she’s more interested in the details of life. I take a broad brush approach to life.”
He also said that, although “a lot of people” approach them in real life, it still comes as a surprise to be recognised by strangers.
“I live such a quiet life that I’m constantly surprised that people recognise me,” Wood explained, adding: “It’s the same thing as when you used to go into a garage and see yourself on closed-circuit television. It’s a constant fascination to watch yourself on television.”
Giles and Mary from Gogglebox— (PA)
Killen, an author and columnist for The Spectator, noted that their absence from social media is beneficial as it has lessened the impact of being familiar faces across the nation.
“The thing is, it hasn’t really affected us that much because we’re not on social media, so we can’t get trolled or whatever,” she said on the radio programme earlier this month (10 August).
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“But the thing is, when I go out, which I do much more than Giles, people usually come up beaming saying, ‘Are you Mary off Gogglebox? Your husband makes us laugh.’ They’re always very pleasant.”
The couple have become fan favourites for their often deadpan commentary on the week’s most popular television programmes.
In April, viewers were entertained by their reaction to the Netflix dramatic comedy Beef, starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. The miniseries centres around the feud between strangers that begins with a disagreement in the car park of a DIY store.
However, Killen was unimpressed by her husband after he made a humorous comparison between the show and the clientele of a certain British supermarket.
