Celebrity Gogglebox
Hamish Blake man-spreading, Robert Irwin naturally funny and stars throwing shade -but are celebs more entertaining than regular Goggleboxers?
- Published by David Knox
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It’s not easy being yourself on camera… just ask Julia Morris, Nazeem Hussain, Hamish Blake and the cast of Celebrity Gogglebox.
The first celebrity version of the long-running show screened last night on Foxtel, taking us -apparently- inside celebrity homes where the stars sit on the couch and pass judgement on the telly.
It was fascinating for an inside peek inside homes, tastefully decorated with plants, books and booze, and your average run of the mill AACTA Award, tennis trophy and Dancing with the Stars mirror ball trophy. White is the prevalent decor for Tim Campbell & Anthony Callea, Alex Perry, Joh Bailey & Cheyenne Tozzi, Julia Morris, Nazeem Hussain.
Seeing how people watch television has for me been nearly as insightful as the reactions of the cast. Last night Hamish Blake was man-spreading so much we nearly copped an eyeful, Alex Perry -you guessed it- wears sunglasses indoors on his head (it’s a brand thing, apparently), Dave & Holly Hughes sit on separate couches and Lachy Hulme -clearly channeling his foodie friend in jacket & cravat- spent the entire episode with Matt Preston at a table watching TV. Who does that?
There was beer, champagne, gin, cocktails, water, cats, a dog and multitasking on the phone whilst watching TV. On the viewing list were Australian Survivor, Married at First Sight, Dancing with the Stars, Celebrity Masterchef UK, SAS Australia, the powerful Disney documentary The Rescue, Amazon Prime doco Shane (Warne) and new US drag series We’re Here.
So what did we learn?
Julia Morris thinks Jonathan LaPaglia is a “dreamboat”; Dylan Alcott wants to compete on Australian Survivor; Julia Morris and Lachy Hulme have never watched Married at First Sight; Luke McGregor wants to go on Married at First Sight (here’s an idea… The Bachelor?); Dave Hughes was hanging out with Ricki Lee and his kids don’t care; Nazeem Hussain has no idea who Cameron Daddo is; Alex Perry wants to go on SAS Australia; and Anthony Callea partied in Shane Warne’s basement and with Khanh at the disco.
But we also saw Hamish Blake fighting back tears watching American drag queens, Robert Irwin actually saying ‘Crikey!’, and everybody remembering Melissa Tkautz’s “Read My Lips.”
It was fascinating that almost all the talent have been involved in Reality TV shows but didn’t devote much insight into how Reality shows are constructed (Matt Preston and Hamish Blake made passing mentions). But also that they are happy to throw shade at those on screen. So does that mean it’s acceptable for average viewers to do the same to celebrities? I guess so, at least in the privacy of your own home. Uploading it to social media and amplifying it to the world may be another matter…
I thought Robert Irwin was the revelation amongst the cast… smart, naturally funny, (I barely heard from mum Terri), but overall this cast weren’t as entertaining as the regular cast. Were they too guarded? Did they try too hard? Did I expect more? Dunno, really…
Would I watch it again? You bet. If Hamish Blake wears some pants.
Celebrity Gogglebox screens tonight on 10.
12 Responses
This was way better than the american celebrity Gogglebox. More thought was put into getting funny and entertaining people.
Interesting photo choice for this story… Safe to assume that if it was his wife in that position, a different snap would of been used???
Assuming is never ideal, but man-spreading is pretty distracting, so it would depend on how it was shot.
Interesting that every show they watched was reality. Wonder if this because participants did not want to be seen criticizing scripted content? There have been plenty of new shows released in recent weeks where they could have watched the first episode on Foxtel on demand or a steaming service. And as for all the Australian reality they watched, I’d rather have seen them review a show like The Tindler Swindler, the popular new documentary on Netflix.
The Rescue and Shane were docos, but yes Gogglebox has always preferred Reality. Would have loved Eurovision: Aus Decides but maybe they will include it in standard Gogglebox coming up. Probably Would I Lie to You too.
Yep…the ‘the man-spreading’ got to me…thought it was just that I am as old as dirt…and yes…Mrs Irwin was very guarded…uncomfortably so for me.
I have always noticed that Terry Irwin lets her kids take the front seat. Is she shy??
This was a very good show, much to my surprise. I thought they were funny and natural.
Re Hamish’s manspreading the first thing that came into my head was how revolted Kerry Silberry would be haha.
Really enjoyed the Celeb version last night. Found I had to freezeframe on each household’s carefully crafted camera shots while I had a look around their rooms. Celia has some interesting stuff on her book shelf. As expected I knew Robert Irwin would be a naturally funny inclusion. His posts on Instagram are hilarious. He’s funny without trying to be funny – looking at you Hamish Blake haha. Laughed out loud watching Dave Hughes and his kids not impressed at all with his showbiz life. For a first episode I thought it was wonderful. As the Celebs relax into it over the weeks and aren’t so aware of the camera it will just get better and better 🙂
It was only a one off but I hope they bring it back soon maybe with different celebrities
I’m the same as Julia and Lachy as I have never seen MAFS either (and nor do I want to). And I don’t think Luke should go on MAFS (although The Bachelor would be a good idea). Can’t wait to watch. It looks great.