The Siddiquis on 10 years of Gogglebox, how it 'changed their lives' and when they'll quit

There’s just one variation in their routine. Every week, they’re filmed sitting on their sofa for 12 hours, with the edited results beamed out around the UK. Since 2013, Channel 4’s people-watching-people-watching-TV show Gogglebox has been an unlikely success story. And the Siddiquis have been there from the beginning, 10 years ago this week.

“When it started, we didn’t think it would last even a year,” former engineer Sid, 78, tells Radio Times magazine. “It’s crept up on us as well. We’ve been doing this for 10 years. You know, you have to tell yourself to wake up and say it is weird!”

Gogglebox was created by Studio Lambert (the team behind Race Across the World, Four in a Bed, Undercover Boss and recent hit The Traitors, among others) as a mix of Harry Hill’s TV Burp and The Royle Family’s telly commentary. Ordinary families from around the UK would be shown the week’s TV, their reactions – whether funny, emotional or bemused – filmed, while a deadpan narrator (originally the late Caroline Aherne, now her Royle Family co-star and co-writer Craig Cash) knitted it all together.

Youngest son Baasit (now 40) was tapped for the show by an old friend who was working on the pilot episode. The friend had remembered the back-and-forth banter between Baasit and his family members, who would regularly visit him in the video shop where he worked part-time.

“We did a bit of an audition, where people came round with a camera and some flash cards – images of Boris Johnson, Simon Cowell… and they said, ‘Right, just say the first thing that comes into your mind,’” brother Umar, 45, recalls.

“Whatever dynamic we had seemed to suit the show, because they asked us if we wanted to be part of it. And they’ve kept on asking us.”

Before the first episode had even aired there was scoffing in the press. Why would anyone watch other people staring at a television? Surely Channel 4 had finally run out of ideas. But fast forward a decade, and Gogglebox is reliably the broadcaster’s biggest weekly show, with six National Television Awards and two BAFTAs.

It’s also become an ingrained part of the Siddiquis’ weekly routine. Twice a week while the show is airing, Sid, Baasit and Umar will plonk down on a sofa and work with a film crew for about six hours. Their spouses and children prefer to stay off camera, while third brother Raza, 49, makes sporadic appearances.

“There are a few shows we watch – about five or six,” says Umar. “What we do is very simple – it’s just blokes talking in front of the camera. The genius comes in afterwards, with the editing. Each bit of it is like a long joke told by several different families. And then one family is given the task of the punch line.”

On screen, we only see a small fraction of the hundreds of hours of footage shot from families scattered around the country, which is all edited centrally in a matter of days. This impressive pace has led to accusations that the families on Gogglebox are coached in their responses, or only watching key sequences rather than whole TV programmes – and while the Siddiquis insist their on-screen reactions really are off the cuff, it seems the latter charge may hold some truth.

“If you film early in the week, you’re more likely to watch long chunks or full episodes, because they’re gauging what people are reacting to,” Baasit tells us. “Then there can be points later in the week where it’s a bit more trimmed down because they know what other families have had the best reactions to.

“But there are some shows that I just don’t think you could get a flavour for unless you’d watched the whole thing. Like Line of Duty – if you don’t know the characters and the key players, you’re like, ‘Huh? What’s going on?’”

Time to bust another myth – while we might see all the Gogglebox families as one extended cast, they don’t actually know or speak to each other, beyond “the occasional awards show or Channel 4-type shindig”, according to Baasit.

“There’s no Facebook group – maybe we should set one up! But we do feel like we know them, just like the viewers, by the fact that we watch the show.”

Apart from Brighton hairdresser Stephen Webb, the Siddiquis are the last family standing from the original Gogglebox cast, with many leaving to parlay the show’s fame into political careers (generally unsuccessfully) or TV stardom (more successfully, in the case of ex-Goggleboxer Scarlett Moffatt). But the Siddiquis remain comparatively down to earth, sticking with their original careers and day-to-day lives.

“I’ve not considered doing anything else off the back of it,” Raza says. “The way I see it is I’m going to go and meet Dad and Umar and Baasit, we’re going to watch TV. And we’re going to take the mick out of each other and enjoy ourselves.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I can say it has changed my life vastly,” agrees Sid, who describes himself on social media as a 'Gogglebox Z-lister'. “As far as our lifestyles are concerned, it’s still the same way. We were a close-knit family and that we remain… If anything, we’ve probably consolidated that because of the show.”

Surely, some things must have changed – what about their earnings from a decade of primetime TV work, rumoured by some to be around £1,500 a month? It may not be big TV money, but it must be a nice sideline?

“I think where it’s impacted me the most is in terms of my confidence to just explore other things,” Baasit reflects. “After 10 years of teaching, I handed in my notice, and I run my own business now. Would I be doing that if I didn’t have that catalyst of Gogglebox?”

“Obviously, financially, we are better off,” admits Sid. “But other than that, I think we are very happy not to make a change.”

Even if their own family dynamic hasn’t altered, the way others perceive them has. These days, family outings are fraught with potential attention, with one group trip to Skegness seeing them mobbed by excited fans.

“One person had the confidence to come and take a photo – and then more and more,” Baasit recalls. “It was a bit of a Dawn of the Dead experience. We were hiding behind cars.”

“In situations like that, I always ask people, ‘What is it about the show that you like?’” muses Raza. “On paper, you wonder why anyone would be interested. But I always get the same answer – it’s just extremely relatable.

“There’ll be a family watching TV, and something that we might say, the person at home might be thinking the exact same thing. That’s what’s kept Gogglebox going as long as it has.”

And who knows how long the format could continue? Today, the show has international versions (in Ireland, Finland and Poland, among others) as well as home-grown spin-offs like Celebrity Gogglebox, and the kid-focused Gogglesprogs. As for the main show itself, there’s no end in sight – or for the Siddiquis.

“I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t keep doing it as long as we are needed and the public obviously appreciate us,” Sid says. “I’m here forever, really.”

“I’m definitely in it for the long haul,” agrees Raza. “What would make us feel like we want to quit? Every time, I look forward to meeting these guys and trying to make each other laugh.”

Baasit, the youngest and first Siddiqui to be recruited to Gogglebox, says there’s one scenario that could inspire him to leave the sofa forever.

“We want to get to the Ken Barlow/Rita Sullivan [of Coronation Street] level, where we’re ubiquitous with that show,” he says. “I think I’d stop being on the show when someone said, ‘Oh, you’re the Siddiquis, you’re like the Ken Barlow of Gogglebox.’

“If we get that as a compliment, then I’m handing in my notice.”

Gogglebox airs on Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV guide or Streaming Guide. Check out our Entertainment hub for all the latest news.

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