For millions of Brits, it’s a Friday night cult film.
But it can now be revealed that Channel 4 series Gogglebox is also a hit with diplomats at the US embassy – so they can better understand the UK.
Staff at the embassy in Nine Elms, London, have been advised to watch the show in their spare time to get a better understanding of real Britons.
The BAFTA-winning program, which has won countless fans since its launch in 2013, sees ordinary families and friends from all over the country sit in their living rooms as they comment on the TV and the news of the week.
And it has caught the attention of diplomats at the US embassy who have used the show, especially during the covid lockdowns, to keep abreast of the views and attitudes of real people across the country.
Employees at the US Embassy in Nine Elms, London, have been advised to watch Gogglebox (Jenny and Lee pictured on the show)
Local British embassy staff were the first to advise incoming American diplomats on watching the show.
Now it has caught on with a large group of American embassy employees who have also come to love the show for its array of characters, accents and “humorous humor.”
Aaron Snipe, a spokesman for the US State Department at the embassy, was told to watch the show when he arrived two years ago during the covid lockdown to “get perspectives you don’t hear in London.”
The 50-year-old diplomat said his favorite family on the show are the Manchester Worthingtons, made up of mother Alison, father George and daughter Helena.
“The Worthingtons are the family I most want to watch TV with,” he explained.
‘If I had to sit on a couch, it would be theirs—what a warmth, and Helena says such irreverent things in front of her parents.
“It’s appealing to the American eye because you can see that the people in this show are very different from each other — geographically, ethnically, religiously.
‘But they all seem to see the same thing – like when a baby survives’ [on a medical show] whether Her Majesty the Queen has passed, everyone feels the same.’
Angela Stubblefield, 51, of the US aviation authorities at the embassy, explained how her favorite brother and sister Pete and Sophie Sandiford (pictured) are from Blackpool
Angela Stubblefield, 51, of the US aviation authorities at the embassy, explained how her favorites are brother and sister Pete and Sophie Sandiford from Blackpool or Jenny Newby and Lee Riley, who watch the show from their caravan in Hull.
“I really like Pete and Sophie – they’re very witty,” Angela said.
‘Also Jenny and Lee – are expressions that sometimes looked at Jenny as if to say ‘where are you from?’
“The show is gripping, charming, hilarious. The jargons and idioms are also handy to know – if someone throws something in you don’t want to be the stupid American who has to ask what it means.’
Clay Crawford, a 49-year-old doctor at the embassy, said Gogglebox was one of the few places he could “understand the UK better”.
“The two places I was able to get to know the UK better were dog walking and Gogglebox,” he said.
The BAFTA-winning program, which has won countless fans since its launch in 2013, features ordinary families and friends from all over the country sitting in their living rooms as they comment on the TV and the news of the week.
“You have a little sense of humor and humor and accents, that’s what keeps everyone entertained.”
Brenda VanHorn, who works with the embassy’s business community, said she felt more at home in the UK after seeing the show.
The 61-year-old said: ‘I immediately identified with siblings Sophie and Pete, the Siddiquis – it reminded me of watching a show with my sister – that common bond.
“I definitely felt more at home here and helped with the accents.”
Gogglebox is in its 20th season, while there have been a number of celebrity spin-offs and Gogglesprogs shows with kids.
The Siddiqui family – father Sid, 75, and his two sons Baasit, 36, and Umar, 43, from Derby – are the only family to have appeared since the first episodes in 2013.
It is one of the most popular TV shows with ratings of over four to five million people.
Stephen Lambert, the show’s founder, said: ‘I couldn’t think of anything better they could do if they wanted to get a taste and understanding of what Britain is thinking every week – that’s the magic of the show.
“It’s such a diverse cast, incredibly insightful – especially the news stories as they look through politicians and their prepared PR lines. And just look at the way they look at the Queen’s funeral and her death – it’s a great way to reflect what we as a country think and feel each week.”
But Rita Rico, 42, who works in strategic communications at the embassy, said she occasionally struggles with the families’ jargon.
‘It’s funny with the translation because I wanted to ask JP and Katie [local British staff] which is a ‘proper hoo-ha,’ she explained.
“I saw that last night and have to write this vocabulary down, and tomorrow I think ‘I’m going to ask them what this means’.
‘We serve our country by creating ties in the UK – so Gogglebox gives us a chance to leave London from our living rooms.’
And the embassy staff have even gone to check on soap opera favorite Coronation Street on the back of Gogglebox.
“We watched or started shows because we’ve seen them on Gogglebox, Coronation Street, I’d never heard of them, Eastenders,” Mrs Stubblefield said.
She added: “People were telling us before we got here Brits are a bit stricter, they’re not as outwardly emotional as Americans…
“We haven’t discovered that this is necessarily the case, but this shows that there is compassion, that there is humor, that there is a humanity that is no different from what we all experience – it made us feel warmer about ourselves.” , since we see that these people just like us.’