Married couple Giles Wood and Mary Killen, two familiar faces of Gogglebox, have claimed that the money they earned from the show have helped them pay off their mortgage. Giles and Mary opened up about the positive impact of appearing in the show in an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘The Afternoon Show.’
“I think we were able to pay off the mortgage,” Giles said, adding that the two of them “kept quiet, very quiet” about their earnings. “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 said, adding that in real life, “a lot of people” approach them and it is still surprising to be recognised by strangers.
“I live such a quiet life that I’m constantly surprised that people recognise me,” Giles said, 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.”
‘We can’t get trolled or whatever’
Mary said that she thought being absent from social media has been a good decision as it has kept them from being familiar faces across the country. “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.
“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,” she added.
‘Gogglebox’ is a British reality TV series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt. One can watch it on Channel 4. The show features families, friends and couples watching weekly British television shows.