rarelyseen

Giles Wood and Mary Killen have become staples on screens thanks to their Gogglebox stint – but away from the show the couple have faced their fair share of hardships

Gogglebox’s Giles Wood and Mary Killen have become telly legends thanks to their stint on the Channel 4 show – but what do we know about their real lives?

The married couple joined the long-running Channel 4 programme back in 2015. And it didn’t take them long to become firm favourites with viewers.

Over the years, Giles and Mary – who live in Wiltshire – have had fans in stitches thanks to their witty banter and one-liners and comical takes on the telly highlights.

Away from the show though, both Giles and Mary have faced their fair share of hardships in their marriage, including a terrifying health scare. Here, we’re taking a look inside the couple’s lives.

Giles and Mary’s romance

Giles and Mary’s romance dates back decades, after meeting each other for the first time when they were just 21 years old. When they crossed paths, Giles was at Wimbledon Art School and Mary was a model.

The pair have been married for over 30 years, most of which time they have spent living at their cottage in Wiltshire.

Giles and Mary are also known for referring to each other with the nickname ‘nutty’ on the series. Mary has previously revealed that the nickname is in reference to The Nutty Professor cartoon strip.

She said: “We call each other ‘nutty’ because we both consider the other to be a bit mad. Certainly Giles has multiple personality disorder so he’s all sorts of people and one of them is a bit of a genius.”

Giles and Mary’s rarely-seen daughters

Giles and Mary also have two grown-up daughters together, who don’t feature on the show, although one was reportedly due to appear alongside Giles before deciding against the idea.

Little is known about Mary and Giles’ daughters however Mary once did give an insight into family life. Speaking to The Guardian about banning swearing in their house, Mary explained: “There’s so much on telly, I don’t want it in my own cottage. Giles swears occasionally because he’s always having minor accidents. Our children turn on him and tell him off. Poor Giles.”

Meanwhile, in 2021, Giles and Mary gave a rare look at their daughters after the couple posted a throwback photo of the family. In the picture, Mary and Giles could be seen holding their girls who wore a white shirt with their blonde hair styled in pigtails.

Gogglebox ‘saved’ Giles and Mary’s marriage

Despite appearing very close on the show, Giles and Mary have admitted to facing challenges in their relationship but credit the Channel 4 programme with bringing them closer together.

Giles recounted how their routine changed dramatically due to the show. He told MailOnline: “Working together on Gogglebox – watching telly at the same time – meant Mary and I suddenly no longer lived like two intimate strangers.

“Mary working from 6am till 8pm, then falling asleep slightly drunk at 9pm; me gardening from 1pm till 3.30pm, when I have lunch, and then going to bed at two in the morning after watching vintage horror films. It has definitely saved our marriage.”

Mary on the ‘closest she’s come to death’

In 2018, Mary revealed her near-death experience after contracting Legionnaires’ disease. Speaking to the Guardian, Mary said: “The closest I’ve come to death was contracting Legionnaires’ disease in 1999.

“I caught it from air conditioning in the Bahamas and developed something called Beau’s lines: white ridges across the fingernails which are a sign that your body’s shutting down for death.”

Coming out of the ordeal battered but alive, she confessed: “It knocked the stuffing out of me. I’ve never been quite the same since.”

Mary’s health ordeal

Years later though, Mary was struck by a severe bout of campylobacter food poisoning which she suspects came from “grubby” homegrown vegetables.

While on antibiotics during her treatment, Mary found herself unable to drink alcohol. She recalled: “Immediately afterward, I found I couldn’t face alcohol. I remember going to a house party on the Isle of Mull a short time later. All sorts of wonderful wines were being served and I couldn’t touch any of them.”

Surprisingly, the sudden aversion reminded her of pregnancy : “It made me recoil,” she explained to MailOnline. The condition she suffered from, campylobacteriosis, is an infection from bacteria commonly found in tainted food and water, and can lead to symptoms such as diarrhoea, cramps, and fever.

Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.

Comedian Jason Manford, who will tonight present the BBC’s Big Night of Musicals is a father to six children from two marriages. While he prefers to keeps his family largely out of the spotlight, the funnyman has offered glimpses of his life behind the scenes

Jason Manford might be a household name for his comic prowess, but his personal life is far less well-known. The 41-year-old funnyman, actor and impressive vocalist has been captivating audiences since making his television debut back in 2007 with a minor role in the BBC Three comedy Ideal, and now he’s taking on hosting duties for the BBC Big Night of Musicals by the National Lottery.

He said ahead of the show tonight (28 March) that it was a “real honour” to head up the night of musical performances, but said in his view, “The real talent is in the orchestra and the performers on stage, and I just love being a part of it.” His illustrious career has certainly flourished over the years, with highlights including presenting the prestigious Royal Variety Performance twice and serving as a panellist on ITV’s Starstruck alongside fellow judges Adam Lambert, Beverley Knight and Shania Twain.

Beyond his professional achievements, what else is there to discover about the entertainer’s personal life? Here’s what we’ve uncovered.

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Jason’s first marriage

The funnyman tied the knot with his first spouse, Catherine, back in October 2007. The couple went on to have twin daughters in 2009, followed by a third daughter in 2010, and then a son in 2012. Their relationship encountered difficulties in 2010 when it emerged he had been messaging female admirers online. The 34-year-old subsequently chose to step down from his presenting duties on The One Show to prioritise his family commitments.

Speaking at the time, he stated: “I have decided after careful consideration to stand back from The One Show to concentrate on my family.” The marriage ultimately ended in 2013. During a frank conversation with the Mirror in 2021, Jason acknowledged he hadn’t devoted sufficient “care and time” to his first marriage.

He reflected: “My first marriage really disintegrated on my theory of, ‘I don’t want my children to have the childhood I had’. So I was out working all the time, and I didn’t put the care and time into that relationship that it deserved and needed. “It’s only now I’m starting to realise, ‘Oh, I’m not giving the children the childhood I had’, which is good in one thing but bad in another. Because I got to spend so much time, and we had laughs with my parents.”

Jason’s second marriage

Jason wed his second wife, Lucy Dyke, in December 2017. The pair exchanged vows in an intimate Manchester ceremony surrounded by loved ones, before celebrating at a local curry house. Lucy, like Jason, works in television as a producer, with an impressive portfolio including Black Mirror, The Split, Ripper Street and numerous other productions. Jason has frequently championed his wife’s professional accomplishments, even encouraging his followers to tune into BBC’s Better, a drama she produced.

Sharing promotional images of the crime series on Instagram, he enthusiastically wrote: “My wife made this excellent show! It’s an absolute smasher and will fill the hole that Happy Valley has left. “BETTER! Starts tonight 9 pm, BBC1. Crime thriller with a twist!”

While largely keeping their domestic life private, he revealed in 2021 that he’d tested Lucy’s tolerance while cultivating sideburns for his theatrical role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Speaking on the Manatomy podcast with Danny Wallace and Phil Hilton, he recalled: “When I was Caractacus Potts in Chitty [Chitty Bang Bang] I grew big sideburns and I got them right down to here, right down to below the lip sort of thing and my wife hated them, like genuinely hated them.

“I guess a lot of fellas do this, once you are married and they can’t leave you for trivial reasons, like having mutton chops. You can do what you like, but if you have dated someone once and they have got mutton chops, you don’t have to have a second date, but once you have got kids, that’s a really trivial reason to go through the process of divorce.

“So I think we as men do things that sort of annoy our wives, but it’s sort of like us testing the boundaries. I knew she hated it, but I still grew them and I was in that show for 18 months.”

Jason’s children

The funnyman is dad to six youngsters in total – four from his initial marriage and two from his current one. Jason shields his offspring from public attention and seldom posts pictures of his clan online.

That said, he does occasionally offer glimpses into family moments on social media. In July 2022 the beaming father shared an uncommon snapshot of his lad observing him perform live.

He wrote beneath the touching Instagram image: “My little boy watching me on stage today at @festunderthestars,” adding a broken heart emoji. During Father’s Day 2020, Jason uploaded an unusual picture showing him embracing all six of his children.

He appeared delighted as the youngsters gathered round for a cuddle while Jason positioned himself before a table displaying a PlayStation Four game and Celebrations chocolates. Within the caption, Jason informed followers: “A lovely Father’s Day. Recording radio show first thing, had pancakes and Nutella!

“Lots of cards and cuddles. Last of Us 2 on PS4 (and a promise of a day off chores this week to actually play it!). A visit to our new house/building site which is finally back up and running and ended the day with a lovely 5k walk which left everybody knackered. Early nights all round. Hope you all had a lovely day, and for those that had a tough one for various reasons, tomorrow is just a Monday and that’ll be easier.”

Big Night of Musicals airs this evening (March 28) from 7:45 pm on BBC One.

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