Who would have thought that a TV show about watching people watch TV would be such a hit?
The BAFTA-award winning show Gogglebox which screens on Living Channel features families and groups of friends around England and Wales who react to British TV shows from their own homes.
And the results are hilarious.
Gogglebox TV Show Photo: Sky TV NZ
Producer Tania Alexander told Jesse Mulligan the key to the programme’s success and most difficult part was finding people who were naturally funny.
"You don’t sit next to someone on the sofa and watch TV with someone you hate, ten out of ten times I guarantee it’s the person you love that you’re sitting next to.
“I don’t want people that want to be on television, that’s quite hard, we’ve never done an application, never done a call out. We have walked around whether it’s cities, towns or villages and approached people we thought were interesting.”
She says although the people in the programme do become famous, it seems not to affect them.
“They have absolutely no idea they’re funny, they’re so natural and so unfiltered.”
And after up to six to seven hours shooting, the participants soon forget the camera. You can’t keep up an act for six hours, she says.
Alexander says some are so without ego they have never watched the show themselves.
She says gay couple Stephen and Chris became a sensation in the very first episode, and the show hasn't looked back since.
