Voiceover narration for Gogglebox is provided by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash. Both appeared as cast members in The Royle Family (1998), a sitcom in which most of the action centres around characters sitting on a sofa and watching television; a similar premise to this series.
Jenny and Lee (the Hull residents) are interviewed in Lee's Caravan. They have a stuffed toy bear that sits behind them during the show. He is known by show fans for his sinister smile. Jenny and Lee met in a pub. Jenny was the landlady of the Crown Pub Inn. Lee was a regular drinker.
The show started as a four-episode series in March 2013. It was a big hit from the first episode. By the third season ratings had increased by three million viewers. At the time writing in early 2017, viewing figures are around 5 million.
Generally each group are recorded for three nights a week. Temporary control rooms are set up. In the case of recording Jenny and Lee in Jenny's caravan, an Outside Broadcast recording van is parked outside. Each group is shot by two remote cameras. One takes a wide, fixed shot. The second is a 'roaming' camera that takes the close-ups.
A Final cut for each episode reaches Channel 4, the network broadcaster, on Thursdays, ready for transmission on Friday.
Liverpool couple Viv and Ralf met while she was a a Pagan festival, celebrating Yule. Ralf was the drummer in a band playing at the festival.