Peek behind curtains of lovable Gogglebox family’s home

Before I am even over the threshold the shouts for everyone to assemble echo around the house.

This continues as Carolyne leads me to the room millions of viewers across the nation already know so well.

“What have you got there?”

She urges her husband Andy to hand over his last Florentine. As he protests I politely decline but happily give in when Carolyne drops it into my lap by accident.

A warm mug is thrust my way as daughters Alex, 25, and Katie, 26, burst in. The yelling continues.

Everything is debated at high volume and with great gusto in exactly the same nature as they are seen on screen.

Then there is shrieking as the youngest of the pack, Louis, joins us on FaceTime from his University of Chichester halls.

His beard and moustache had disappeared, he was sporting a new hair cut and this was the first time the family had seen it.

Cries of, “Oh my god, Louis! The old Louis is back, look at your hair”, were accompanied by teasing from his two sisters, “You are such a poser.”

It is the most unconventional interview, delightfully chaotic and utterly endearing.

Not one of them finishes a sentence without another bellowing over the top.

At intervals they wander in and out of the room, bringing photos and books to show me, more snacks and in a change of clothes as the evening draws in.

It is their natural, close-knit family-of-six dynamic, the opinions and the raucous laughter, which has attracted millions of fans. While their lifestyle has not changed, Gogglebox has become a huge part of their life and each one has appeared on it at one time or another.

“People will just shout Gogglebox at us now,” Carolyne said.

“I do love it and the producers say we are all part of the Gogglebox family.

“We’ve never met each other but we swap Christmas cards with the other households and Sandy and Sandra bought us a present when they went on holiday.”

Alex recalled the moment a lorry pulled up beside her and the men sitting inside yelled out the show's title.

"You just say 'yeah' and that's it. It's bizarre."

They've had gifts and flowers delivered to the house, Carolyne and Louis' Christmas food shopping outing took hours to complete as they barely made a step forward without being stopped.

"People will stop me and say – you look just like that woman on Gogglebox.  And I say ‘That’s because I am.’ It is so funny," she said.

Louis, who was just 16 when he first appeared, said: “I have a tendency to forget I’m on it. I’m pleasantly surprised that people know who I am.

“They always want to ask you the same questions – is it filmed with a camera in your TV? Do you get paid? How long does it take? People think it’s live. They are disappointed when they find out it’s a film crew,” Andy said.

And yes, they do get paid a minimal fee.

A film crew visits twice a week to capture the episodes and the sessions in front of the television can last from just gone 6pm to midnight. At one point filming was lasting until 1am but Andy said this was too much when the girls were still needing to get to work the next day.

There are screams of laughter as Louis reveals the most bizarre thing of all – a friend of his has to analyse Gogglebox as part of a reality TV module in his university degree with the question: “Explore how the characters presented in Gogglebox can either support or demolish conceptions cast upon set generations.”

"He Facebooked me and said 'I’m freaking out. If I have to write your name I think I might cry.' How mad is that?" Louis said.

Ironically Katie, who is one of the least featured in the show, was the one to discover the idea. Scouts spoke to her when she was working in Hollister in Brighton in 2012 and were interested when she said "I told them my family are really funny and opinionated –and plus they don’t do anything."

An interview and screen test followed and the family thought nothing more of it. They were surprised to be picked for the show, just as Katie decided to go travelling in Australia.

Novices to the show will have missed the moments when Katie and Alex switch for the evening but assume the same seating position but they said it is always spotted by "hardcore" fans.

Their eldest son 21-year-old Pascal, or Pag, made his debut early on but is now studying in Aberdeen, and Louis, now 19, travels back at the weekends for filming.

He said: "The thought of coming home every weekend was a bit of a nightmare but I love it and it’s not that hard to do. I just love the thought of us on TV. I’m now known as Gogglebox, I am Gogglebox!

“Having lived away from home it gives me another perspective. Living in Chichester is a lot quieter. Brighton is so full of life. I always feel it is so vibrant. I also have a massive interest in political activism and I love this about Brighton – you will voice an opinion and people will discuss it with you rather than just shout you down."

Of course there is much more to this family than Gogglebox.

Born and bred in Brighton, Carolyne is fiercely proud of her heritage and there is a great amount of teasing among the family – three of whom were born in the city and three in Eastbourne.They all adore their home and everything the city has to offer.

The couple moved back to Brighton in 1996 after they met at the Alexandra Hotel in Hove in 1985.

They were taking a course to teach English – Carolyne as a job prospect and Andy to fill in time and to find a way to meet "intelligent women."

Carolyne said: “I wanted to come back to Brighton, I wanted the children to grow up here and have the benefit of being educated here.”

She is now focused on becoming a nutritionist, particularly to help those who are ill and may even set up a surgery in her house.

Life carried on without the show when they were dropped in 2014 after Andy announced plans to stand as a UKIP candidate.

Andy, 56, said: "We thought they were kidding at first, I was given a week to make a final decision and we spent some time discussing it. I decided to stand and my family stood behind me in this personal journey but I felt upset that I could be letting them down. We were told if we decided to leave we could never come back.”

At which point Carolyne, 54, interjects "They genuinely wanted us to stay - I think they like the family dynamic. They were really upset and we were devastated."

He did not win but was pleased to gain a higher majority of the vote than the party’s national average. A few days later they were invited back on the show. "I was absolutely stunned, I thought it was a wind up," he added.

The entire family were happy to be back and Carolyne is particularly proud they have been part of the programme's clan of families from the start. They think the secret to the success of the Bafta-winning show is that everyone is allowed to be themselves and no-one takes anything too seriously.

"The production team are very protective of all of us. Nobody realised how big it was going to be. It's become much more of a feel good programme. People like seeing a family together as it doesn't happen that often anymore," added Carolyne.

Now in its seventh series the terms of their involvement are a little stricter - nothing in the room can change, everything has to remain in its exact position, they all have a set seating position and they can no longer drift in and out of the shot at leisure.  

Andy said now if he were to walk out while X Factor is on, as he used to routinely do in the past, the crew ask if he can come back in. Carolyne said they are asked to keep the furniture, pictures and other items around the room in the same position.  

They find they watch less TV as a result and Alex said she will re-watch shows again as it is hard to focus with the film crew on scene.

The entire time we have been talking Carolyne has been calmly knitting, as she does in almost every episode of the show.  At present it is a thick, 12 ft long, mustard Tom Baker-style scarf as requested by Louis.

• Gogglebox returns to Channel 4 at 9pm tomorrow.

MEET THE MICHAELS...

The entire Michael family - who have all appeared on Gogglebox at one time or another - took this selfie at Christmas

RETIRED HOTELIER ANDY, 56

His Greek-Cypriot parents moved to Eastbourne in the 1950s and he continued the family trade of being a hotelier.

He retired after selling two, three and four star hotels in Eastbourne and Bournemouth.

After his political pursuits, standing as a UKIP candidate in Hastings and Rye in the general election last year, he has turned his attention to the European Union referendum.

He is carrying out in-depth independent research and analysis of the costs and benefits of membership.

He and Carolyne would love their own Alex Polizzi Hotel Inspector-style show where they scrutinise the establishments they stay in.

Favourite TV programme discovered through Gogglebox: Nigel Farage: Who Are You? “I found this documentary where he acts like a naughty schoolboy fascinating.”

Least favourite: The X Factor – which he routinely berates during Gogglebox and used to leave the room when it was on.

RETIRED TEACHER CAROLYNE, 54

Born in Brighton, Carolyne graduated in English and history and used to work as a teacher. She is now training to become a nutritionist to help those who are ill and hopes to host a surgery in her home.

Favourite show: Downton Abbey every time but Luther, which she discovered only through Gogglebox, was a “revelation - Idris Elba is gorgeous.”

Least favourite: The Woman with Ten Cats. She thought it would be about cats but it was actually about someone who owned lots of snakes, which she hates. The word ophidiophobia began trending on Twitter when Andy discussed Carolyne’s fear of snakes in a Gogglebox episode.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL KATIE, 26 

After graduating with a masters from UCL in management in science she found it hard to juggle Gogglebox with her job as a senior manager for 50 people in a Brighton recruitment company for financial services. But she is soon to appear more in the show.

She said: “The idea of coming home and having to sit through five or six hours of TV with my family was not on the top of my agenda after a long day. I’m much more settled in my new job now so feeling more able to join in. It doesn’t affect me in the same way as everyone else. Sometimes if I’m recognised I say ‘it’s not me, it’s my sister’ and pretend I’m not on it.”

Favourite show: Dr Christian and Supersize vs Superskinny

Least favourite: House of Spiders – see Louis’ comments below

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL ALEX, 25

Alex – named after the Alexandra Hotel where her parents met – fundraised to volunteer with health and sanitation charity Raleigh International in India by auctioning herself for a date with an appeal in The Argus.

She gained a degree in computer sciences before both she and Katie completed masters degrees at UCL. Katie’s studies coincided with Alex’s engineering course for one module which they both took at the same time.

She now works for a Brighton company which analyses online marketing activity to help businesses and deals with clients like House of Fraser, Selfridges and We Buy Any Car.

Favourite show: Pointless and the drama River which she found it hard to tear herself away from.

Least favourite: Supervet. “Everyone will think it’s because I’m an animal hater but I’m not, I just don’t really enjoy the show.”

PASCAL, 21

He appeared in the show briefly at the very beginning and is currently studying neuroscience at university in Aberdeen.

STUDENT LOUIS, 19

In his first year studying English and creative writing at the University of Chichester, Louis takes after his mum with his artistic flair. He is prolific in writing poetry and short stories, would love to write storylines for games and write his own books.

Favourite show: Catchphrase or David Attenborough nature documentaries

Least favourite: House of Spiders – where a woman enters a house infested by the insects. “It was horrific. I think I only managed to look at the screen twice.”