Gogglebox stars Dave and Shirley Griffiths have been married for 49 years and have been a part of the Channel 4 show since 2015 – but they were cruelly trolled online
Joe Crutchley Screen Time Reporter
18:17, 22 Sep 2025
Gogglebox legends Dave and Shirley defended after being trolled with cruel comments (Image: JUDE EDGINTON/CHANNEL 4)
Gogglebox viewers have come together to defend cherished stars Dave and Shirley Griffiths after nasty internet bullies took aim at them online.
The Welsh duo initially appeared on the Channel 4 programme back in 2015 – and it wasn’t long before they captured viewers’ hearts.
Throughout the years, Dave and Shirley – who have been wed for 49 years and are mum and dad to two youngsters – have left audiences in hysterics with their side-splitting quips and observations about the newest television offerings.
Beyond the programme, Dave and Shirley consistently update their supporters via their Instagram account – which boasts a remarkable 208k followers.
On Friday (September 19) the couple posted on the social media site and revealed a sweet snapshot of themselves whilst on their overseas getaway, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Dave and Shirley displayed their affection in the photograph as they grinned towards the lens. They wrote alongside the image “Happy #gogglebox Friday everyone #fresheveryfriday don’t forget tonight #channel4 9pm drinks and snacks out it’s gogglebox time.”
Nevertheless, whilst numerous Dave and Shirley admirers were thrilled by their post, the duo faced a barrage of vicious remarks from online tormentors.
Racing to the couple’s defence, one supporter penned: “These are funny people on Gogglebox but why do people have to make comments about her face we are all getting older and you can’t do much if you’re prone to wrinkles give her a break.”
The backing wasn’t missed by Dave and Shirley who ‘liked’ the message. Another devotee also commented: “People can be so mean.”
To fans’ absolute joy, Dave and Shirley have made their comeback for the fresh Gogglebox series – which kicked off earlier this year. Nevertheless, things are looking rather different, as it was confirmed in July that cherished stars Roisin Kelly and Joe Kyle wouldn’t be making a return.
The pair etched their names into Gogglebox folklore as the inaugural Scottish duo to join the programme back in February 2022.
Breaking the news of their exit from the Channel 4 programme, Roisin turned to TikTok to deliver the disappointing news, penning: “After three and a half years of sitting on the sofa channel 4 have decided it’s time for Joe and I to stretch our legs and have not asked us back for season 26.”
Gogglebox continues every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
Officials at No 10 and the Foreign Office were aware of supportive emails between Lord Mandelson and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when the prime minister initially defended the former ambassador on Wednesday, the BBC understands.
Sources stressed Sir Keir was not aware of the contents of the emails when he stood by Lord Mandelson at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
The BBC understands that a media enquiry outlining details of the messages between the pair was sent to the Foreign Office on Tuesday, and passed on to No 10.
Sir Oliver Robbins, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails on Tuesday but did not receive a response until the next day.
Backbench Labour MP Olivia Blake called No 10’s reported handling of the situation “really embarrassing”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “Any operation that fails to tell a prime minister when something as substantial as those emails were presented to them clearly has deep failings.”
Blake added: “Whoever is gatekeeping the information to the prime minister needs to stop, and they need to be getting things to him much earlier so that he can get on top of it.”
Asked whether Lord Mandelson should be required to leave the House of Lords, Blake said it was something “we should be considering”.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US shortly before 11:00 on Thursday. Downing Street said the emails contained “new information” that was not known at the time of Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
United States District Court Southern District of New York
A picture understood to have been taken on the Caribbean island of St Barts in 2006
The full emails were published by Bloomberg and the Sun on Wednesday evening.
“I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened,” Mandelson wrote the day before Epstein reported to prison in 2008 for soliciting sex from a minor.
Mandelson added: “You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release… Your friends stay with you and love you.”
In an interview with the Sun on Wednesday, Lord Mandelson said he felt a “tremendous sense of regret” that he had met Epstein, and that he “took at face value the lies that he fed me and many others”.
The BBC earlier reported that Lord Mandelson’s emails were sent from an old account to which he no longer had access. Officials cite this as the reason they had not been seen earlier.
In a statement announcing Lord Mandelson’s dismissal, the Foreign Office said: “The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
Following his sacking, Mandelson said being the UK’s ambassador to the US had been “the privilege of my life”.
It comes as Sir Keir faces growing pressure over his handling of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US.
Labour MP Clive Lewis, an outspoken voice on the Labour left, said Sir Keir “doesn’t seem up to the job”, adding that there was a “very, very dangerous atmosphere” among Labour MPs.
Another Labour MP Jo White said the “clock is ticking” for Sir Keir to turn polls around before local elections next May.
Labour MP Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee, has written to the new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper asking for details on the vetting process for Lord Mandelson’s appointment, and whether security concerns were dismissed.
Thornberry’s letter was first reported by Sky News.
It also emerged that Jeffrey Epstein paid for Lord Mandelson’s travel on two separate occasions in 2003 totalling more than $7,400 (£5,400), according to documents released by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee.
Earlier this week, US lawmakers released an alleged “birthday book” containing messages sent to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003 – including one from Lord Mandelson.
In his letter, which features photos of the pair, Lord Mandelson described Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal”, and an “intelligent, sharp-witted man”.
Gogglebox legends Dave and Shirley defended after being trolled with cruel comments
Gogglebox stars Dave and Shirley Griffiths have been married for 49 years and have been a part of the Channel 4 show since 2015 – but they were cruelly trolled online
Joe Crutchley Screen Time Reporter
18:17, 22 Sep 2025
Gogglebox viewers have come together to defend cherished stars Dave and Shirley Griffiths after nasty internet bullies took aim at them online.
The Welsh duo initially appeared on the Channel 4 programme back in 2015 – and it wasn’t long before they captured viewers’ hearts.
Throughout the years, Dave and Shirley – who have been wed for 49 years and are mum and dad to two youngsters – have left audiences in hysterics with their side-splitting quips and observations about the newest television offerings.
Beyond the programme, Dave and Shirley consistently update their supporters via their Instagram account – which boasts a remarkable 208k followers.
On Friday (September 19) the couple posted on the social media site and revealed a sweet snapshot of themselves whilst on their overseas getaway, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Dave and Shirley displayed their affection in the photograph as they grinned towards the lens. They wrote alongside the image “Happy #gogglebox Friday everyone #fresheveryfriday don’t forget tonight #channel4 9pm drinks and snacks out it’s gogglebox time.”
Nevertheless, whilst numerous Dave and Shirley admirers were thrilled by their post, the duo faced a barrage of vicious remarks from online tormentors.
Racing to the couple’s defence, one supporter penned: “These are funny people on Gogglebox but why do people have to make comments about her face we are all getting older and you can’t do much if you’re prone to wrinkles give her a break.”
The backing wasn’t missed by Dave and Shirley who ‘liked’ the message. Another devotee also commented: “People can be so mean.”
To fans’ absolute joy, Dave and Shirley have made their comeback for the fresh Gogglebox series – which kicked off earlier this year. Nevertheless, things are looking rather different, as it was confirmed in July that cherished stars Roisin Kelly and Joe Kyle wouldn’t be making a return.
The pair etched their names into Gogglebox folklore as the inaugural Scottish duo to join the programme back in February 2022.
Breaking the news of their exit from the Channel 4 programme, Roisin turned to TikTok to deliver the disappointing news, penning: “After three and a half years of sitting on the sofa channel 4 have decided it’s time for Joe and I to stretch our legs and have not asked us back for season 26.”
Gogglebox continues every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
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Starmer defended Mandelson after officials knew about Epstein emails, BBC understands
Harry FarleyPolitical correspondent and
James ChaterBBC News
Officials at No 10 and the Foreign Office were aware of supportive emails between Lord Mandelson and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when the prime minister initially defended the former ambassador on Wednesday, the BBC understands.
Sources stressed Sir Keir was not aware of the contents of the emails when he stood by Lord Mandelson at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
The BBC understands that a media enquiry outlining details of the messages between the pair was sent to the Foreign Office on Tuesday, and passed on to No 10.
Sir Oliver Robbins, permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, asked Lord Mandelson about the emails on Tuesday but did not receive a response until the next day.
Backbench Labour MP Olivia Blake called No 10’s reported handling of the situation “really embarrassing”.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “Any operation that fails to tell a prime minister when something as substantial as those emails were presented to them clearly has deep failings.”
Blake added: “Whoever is gatekeeping the information to the prime minister needs to stop, and they need to be getting things to him much earlier so that he can get on top of it.”
Asked whether Lord Mandelson should be required to leave the House of Lords, Blake said it was something “we should be considering”.
Lord Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US shortly before 11:00 on Thursday. Downing Street said the emails contained “new information” that was not known at the time of Lord Mandelson’s appointment.
The full emails were published by Bloomberg and the Sun on Wednesday evening.
“I think the world of you and I feel hopeless and furious about what has happened,” Mandelson wrote the day before Epstein reported to prison in 2008 for soliciting sex from a minor.
Mandelson added: “You have to be incredibly resilient, fight for early release… Your friends stay with you and love you.”
In an interview with the Sun on Wednesday, Lord Mandelson said he felt a “tremendous sense of regret” that he had met Epstein, and that he “took at face value the lies that he fed me and many others”.
The BBC earlier reported that Lord Mandelson’s emails were sent from an old account to which he no longer had access. Officials cite this as the reason they had not been seen earlier.
In a statement announcing Lord Mandelson’s dismissal, the Foreign Office said: “The emails show that the depth and extent of Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is materially different from that known at the time of his appointment.”
Following his sacking, Mandelson said being the UK’s ambassador to the US had been “the privilege of my life”.
It comes as Sir Keir faces growing pressure over his handling of Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the US.
Labour MP Clive Lewis, an outspoken voice on the Labour left, said Sir Keir “doesn’t seem up to the job”, adding that there was a “very, very dangerous atmosphere” among Labour MPs.
Another Labour MP Jo White said the “clock is ticking” for Sir Keir to turn polls around before local elections next May.
Labour MP Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs committee, has written to the new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper asking for details on the vetting process for Lord Mandelson’s appointment, and whether security concerns were dismissed.
Thornberry’s letter was first reported by Sky News.
It also emerged that Jeffrey Epstein paid for Lord Mandelson’s travel on two separate occasions in 2003 totalling more than $7,400 (£5,400), according to documents released by the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee.
Earlier this week, US lawmakers released an alleged “birthday book” containing messages sent to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003 – including one from Lord Mandelson.
In his letter, which features photos of the pair, Lord Mandelson described Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal”, and an “intelligent, sharp-witted man”.
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