Sandra Martin and Sandi Bogle were “legless” when they were scouted for ‘Gogglebox’.
Sandra Martin and Sandi Bogle were ‘legless’ when they were scouted for ‘Gogglebox’
The original stars of the Channel 4 show were celebrating Sandra’s 50th birthday near their South London home so bosses ended up getting “the full character” of their personalities when they were spotted out and about.
Sandi, 58, told the Sun on Sunday newspaper: “We were legless, because it was her birthday, so that way you've got the full characters of us both together. It was right place, right time.”
Due to their drunkeness, the pair of best friends thought the premise of the show made “no sense” when they were pitched it by one of the show’s scouts.
Sandi added: “We was a bit tipsy, so we was like, ‘What is he talking about?’
“Sandra was just like, ‘Take over, take over, because I don’t understand what he’s talking about. He‘s talking rubbish. What is this people watching TV, watching us, watching them? It doesn’t make sense.‘”
After they gave their contact details, Sandra – who was unemployed at the time – recalled crying as she thought she had hit the jackpot by landing a job.
The 61-year-old added: “They said, ‘All you’ve got to do is sit down, order a big pizza and watch TV.’
“Oh my God, I started to cry. I told the socials, ‘I’ve got a job now,’ and I cried.”
Sandi added: “We started filming straight away. They just loved our characters and how we worked together.”
Sandra said perks of the show included getting VIP access to David Beckham.
She said: “David Beckham was doing a book signing at Waterstones, and there was a long queue with about 300 people.
“I was at the back of the queue, but too many people were coming to me for selfies, so security came and took me inside.
“I then go into the queue near David.”
Sandi quit ‘Gogglebox’ to explore other projects including an appearance on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, and Sandra admitted she thought she was “going to go back on benefits” if she left ‘Gogglebox’.
She added: “It was hard. I had a panic attack, thinking I was going to go back on benefits.”
Despite the turmoil their friendship was put under – and Sandra going back on the dole while Sandi has ventured into panto – the duo are still firm friends.
Sandi said: “(Sandra) comes to support me always. After 50-odd years of friendship, you can’t not be friends!
“No matter what we go through, she’s always got a room here for her, and she's always got a room for me.
“We're besties. We've been through ups, downs, thick and thin, the worst, the wears, the tears, the bumps, the laughs.
“That’s friendship. You can’t beat that, no matter what.”
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