Gogglebox narrator Craig Cash has been alerted to celebrity deaths by reading his scripts for the show (Picture: REX / Channel 4 )
Gogglebox narrator Craig Cash admits he's been caught off guard more than a few times when it comes to celebrity deaths.
The actor and comedian has been the voice of the reality TV series since 2016, introducing audiences to the cast and what they're tuning into each week.
However, Craig, 62, has confessed that he sometimes uses the show as his way to catch up on current affairs, which has left him shocked at times as he reads his scripts to find out that a famous face has died.
'They will send me a script each week and often there's quite a surprise when I go, "What they're dead?"' he told Metro.co.uk.
'It's often "in the week that someone passed away",' he explained of the topic or news item that usually kicks off each episode.
One example of when a celebrity death was hastily added to an introduction was when Prince Phillip died on a Friday last April, with the news making it on Gogglebox that evening.
The comedian has worked on the series since 2016 (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)'In the week we bid farewell to His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, we enjoyed lots of great telly,' the show began with Craig's voice-over.
While some people watching praised the show for being so quick to include the news event, others said it was too brief a reference to the late royal.
Recording for Gogglebox typically happens on the day the series hits screens, but there's still been some last-minute breaking news that's meant what Craig recorded hours earlier has had to quickly be changed with a quick turn-around.
Sisters Ellie and Izzi Warner have appeared on the show since season 6 (Picture: Channel Four)'Although it is quite rare because it is so close to the wire all of the time, I do remember a time where the producers rang me up after I'd recorded and asked where I was and asked if I could get back to my microphone and re-record [the introduction],' he recalled.
There was just one problem.
'I was on the motorway with my family halfway to Scotland,' he laughed.
Since the pandemic Craig has continued the practice of recording under his staircase, but had to make do with another makeshift sound booth on this occasion as the producers were especially keen to update the script.
Theresa May's resignation in 2019 sparked a last minute change to the Gogglebox intro (Picture: SWNS)'I asked, "Why did I say something wrong?" and they said that Theresa May had just resigned and they wanted to start the show with a different line, and they asked me to find a quiet place.'
With not many options, Craig said he had to pull into a service station and record the new lines on his phone, all while 'shutting my family up and making sure they were quiet'.
Best-known for his work on shows including sitcom The Royle Family (which he created and starred in alongside Gogglebox's former narrator, the late Caroline Aherne), Craig said he's managed to catch a few people off guard in public over the years when they recognise his voice.
Craig is best known for his work on shows including The Royle Family (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)'It's weird because years ago people would approach me and talk about the Royle Family and they still do, but the weird thing about Gogglebox is younger people who haven't seen the Royle's or previous TV work of mine, some don't even know what I look like,' he explained.
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'I can be in a queue and if someone says something to me and I talk the whole queue looks around when they hear my voice.
'I have people coming to me asking if I can say and record something for them and I often oblige if they are nice but if I am out for a meal…my wife is staring at me as I'm sitting there saying "In Brighton…".'
He added: 'But the good thing about working on Gogglebox and comedies is that fans just absolutely love seeing you and it's never a pain to listen to people be nice about the things you work on.
'I guess if I was playing a mass murderer on TV they'd be less friendly, but it's nice. They pay the rent don't they so I'm appreciative and more than happy to speak to people.'
Craig and Kym Marsh have teamed up to help support Heineken going green (Picture: Matt McNulty/PA)One public service Craig didn't quite think he'd ever be undertaking came when the passionate Manchester City fan did what could be considered the unthinkable and pulled on a different jersey in recent weeks.
However, he did reassure that it was for a good cause though – to throw his support behind Heineken's £25million investment at their site in Manchester to reduce carbon emissions, part of the brewery's ambitions to reach net zero emissions across all its production sites by 2030.
It's a campaign that ardent Manchester United fan Kym Marsh also got behind, with the pair coming together to don a brand-new green kit to back the move.
As Craig explained, getting involved was a no-brainer and he was happy to get behind it, 'even if I did have to swap my City shirt'.
Other long-time Gogglebox cast members include Sophie and Pete Sandiford (Picture: Channel 4)Now, after more than seven years of working on Gogglebox, Craig shared that as a huge fan of the show himself (admitting he sometimes ditched Friday plans to settle in on the couch and tune in), he would like to see it continue for years to come.
'I've never thought how long it would last but I am just so grateful it does last. It is a real jewel in the crown of TV. I know it sounds conceited me saying it, but I am just a small part of it,' he said.
'I've never known how long it would last but hope it keeps going and going and going, I really do. I love being a part of it and I hope they keep wanting me to be a part of it.'
He added that he 'loved it' and was incredibly 'proud' to be part of the show.
Gogglebox airs Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4 and All4.
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