Googlebox returns to Channel 4 for a seventh series this Friday and two people who know all about the hit reality show are 18-year-old Josh Tapper and his 16-year-old sister Amy.
The pair have appeared on the show with their mum and dad Nikki and Jon since it began in 2013, so we caught up with them to find out what being on TV with your parents is really like…
What do your school friends think of you being on the show?
Josh: "I’m in my last year of sixth form and most of my mates are big fans of the show and they really like it. They take the mick out of stuff I say a bit and call me ‘Gogglebox Josh’ all the time, but I don’t really mind."
Amy: "Sometimes my friends make jokes. If we’re up in town then we get noticed quite a lot, so sometimes they’ll walk ahead of me and start screaming ‘Oh my god it’s the girl from Gogglebox!’ and then I’ll get really embarrassed and run into a shop!"
Josh: "The worst things was when we were watching the live episode of EastEnders last year. The truth came out about who killed Lucy and I started crying. I was crying watching EastEnders! Obviously I got a bit of stick at school on Monday."
Do you regret anything you’ve said on the show?
Amy: "I never regret anything I say, but sometimes when I watch back I see myself say stuff that I forgot I said. Once I said that James Corden is just a fatter version of Gary Barlow and I forgot I said it and when I watched it back I was like, 'That is so true!' As if I was talking to myself!"
What’s it like being on TV with your parents?
Josh: "It’s a bit awkward when we have to watch a sex scene. We watched American Pie and my mum was so embarrassing and she started talking about my squeaky bed!"
Amy: "That was hilarious."
Josh: "There have been different situations when it's quite awkward, but when you look back on it, it’s funny. At the time I had to compose myself because I couldn’t let them win! But most of the time it’s really nice to watch TV as a family."
Amy: "Sex scenes aren’t awkward until Dad says something like, 'Nikki let’s go upstairs and practise!' That’s a bit annoying, although usually Dad’s not embarrassing because he’s funny! But mum can say a few tragic things. Like we sit there and she’ll say things that my age group would say and I’ll say, 'Mum you can’t say that! You’re a middle-aged woman!'"
Do you ever argue with your parents on TV?
Amy: "Yes there was one time when I had an argument with my mum on the show, but we made up straight away. We’re always arguing and then making up – we just look at each other and burst out laughing. It’s very normal, what you see is literally us."
Josh, you have lots of Twitter followers, have you been more popular with the ladies since being on the show?
Josh: "You’d think so wouldn’t you? With girls on Twitter maybe, but not ones I know!"
How do people on Twitter react when the show’s on?
Josh: "Lots of really nice tweets from people who enjoy the show, obviously you get the old negative, but you’ve got to ignore it and take into account how many pos there are to negative."
What’s it like when you get recognised when you’re out and about?
Amy: "It’s quite surreal because we’re just normal people, but it’s strange when people come up and start talking to you. They think they know you because they watch on TV, which is odd."
Has being on Gogglebox introduced you to any new shows?
Josh: "I really like David Attenborough programmes now and I got proper hooked on The Missing and Doctor Foster after watching it on Googlebox."
…and what about the most boring programmes you’ve seen?
Amy: "Downton Abbey. I despise it. We all do, it’s just Mum who likes it. We used to be able to escape watching it, but over the last couple of years we’ve had to watch it for Gogglebox. Thank god it’s over now!"
Are you looking forward to the new series?
Amy: "To be honest, I’ve actually run out of clothes to wear on the show – I need to go to the shop. At the start of the series I make more of an effort with what I wear, I might be wearing a nice top and stuff, but by the end of the series I just can’t be bothered and I’ll be in my trackies and pyjamas!"
