Gogglebox is pointless without Mary and Giles’ outdated politics

After joining Gogglebox in 2015, Mary Killen and Giles Wood immediately became firm favourites with fans. 

I was one of them – this stiff-lipped, upper-class ‘hippy’ couple has a clear disdain for pretty much all television they’re forced to endure and are unlike anyone else on Gogglebox. They’re so out-of-place that they somehow feel so perfect for it.

They wince at pretty much everything they’re shown, including their hilarious horror at Naked Attraction.

For years, I was convinced they were liberal lefty academics, with a flair for dancing in fields and championing peace and love. 

I was sold on their fractious relationship, driven by the sort of bickering that can only come with couples who have lived together and been in love for decades.

And then it became clear that I – and so many other Gogglebox fans – had them wrong.

In my defence, they admitted to previously pretending to be lefties (like me) back in the 1990s. During an episode in 2024, Gogglebox stars reacted to two by-election defeats for the Tories to Labour.

Watching the results in their respective battered armchairs, Giles said: ‘Oh God, do you remember that? Labour victory, with all those Labour people crowing about their victory.’

Mary sighed: ‘But this is going to be even worse.’

Giles then candidly admitted: ‘And we pretended that we voted Labour… We thought we were going to be lynched.’ (Mary then proclaimed, ‘you pretended!’)

Considering their comments came during the peak hell of the previous Conservative government, which admittedly doesn’t feel much worse than the mess we’re in under this Labour one, Gogglebox fans were alarmed.

Then last month, Mary and Giles stunned fans again when the latter appeared to back Donald Trump after his row with Volodymyr Zelensky over the Ukrainian President’s suit (or lack of).

Giles also defended Vice President JD Vance from accusations he was raising his voice in the argument.