GOGGLEBOX'S LOVEABLE twosome Sandy Channer and Sandra Martin picked up the show's award for Best Factual programme at last night's (Jan 21) National Television Awards (NTAs).
The outgoing friends, known for their humourous commentary on the Channel 4 show, took to the stage amid rapturous applause to collect the gong on behalf of the popular series.
Sandra, also known as Queen B, 51, from Brixton, south London, spluttered: "Where's the sofa? Thank you very much everyone for voting for us. It's a liberty, man, a proper liberty."
Sandy, 47, also from Brixton, added: "I just want to say thank you to the fans. This is for you guys - if you wasn't watching, we wouldn't be up here."
Gogglebox is a weekly fly-on-the-wall reality TV show which captures the opinions of households across the UK while they watch television.
Sandra, a mother-of-two has previously owned wine bars in Streatham and Peckham. She used to sing at the Tower in Blackpool with Larry Grayson when she was younger, and so is no stranger to being the centre of attention.
The best friends have been filmed in Sandra’s home since March 2013, while they watch TV programmes including soaps, documentaries and reality TV. Throughout the series, the friend’s no-nonsense conversations and comical moments have had the nation in stitches, such as when they discovered Sandra had a mouse.
During series one, watching A Very British Wedding, Sandra said: “When I got married to my last husband, we never had nothing.” Sandy responded: “You’ve never had a cake?”
Sandra: “Nope, straight down KFC.”
According to Sandy, “I seem to have the talent to make people laugh, but I just don’t realise it’s so funny when it comes out.”
Along with Sandy and Sandra, the show also brought viewers into the homes of retired teachers, Leon and June from Liverpool, the Tapper family from north London and the Michael family from Brighton.
Sandy and Sandra are the only black people on the show.
‘Bob Had A Jealous Love For Me'
Bob Marley’s widow Rita on her late husband’s jealous side, his other women, and his everlasting legacy
THE PROBLEM you have when trying to recount the life and legacy of a legend is that there are often so many accounts to consider.
After all, the journey of a superstar – particularly one whose path saw them rise from rags to riches – will often feature a plethora of friends, business associates, and casual advisors; some genuine, some only out for what they can get.
So in the case of Bob Marley – as British director Kevin Macdonald discovered – it will always be a huge task attempting to document the life and times of the One Love hitmaker, because the stories you get will depend very much on who you ask.
FAMILY LIFE: the couple with their children (l-r) Sharon, Ziggy, Cedella and Stephen (in pram); and Rita with sons Ziggy
“He was shy and he was very... I would say snobbish. He never really checked for girls. So I was very surprised when he started having all these women, because that really wasn’t him – that was not his lifestyle.
“In fact, it was a very long time before I was able to even touch his hair. That’s how serious he was, not against women, but he was just so focused on making something of his career. So back then, there was no notion of him being about girls, girls, girls. That only came after fame, popularity and stardom.”
Still, despite the hurt that Marley’s infidelity caused her, Mrs Marley says she never badmouthed her husband to her children when they were growing up.
“I tried to keep the kids out of the internal happenings... the women and the nights he stayed out. I always told the kids, ‘daddy is a good man. He’s hard working.’ And the kids knew that. He treated us in a special way and he looked out for us. He supported us financially and spiritually, and most people don’t realise he was that kind of person. “Some people think he was superficial. I was at a press conference and I was asked, ‘Was Bob a lover; a real lover?’ I mean, of course he was!
“Also, he spent time with me, helping me to become a wonderful singer and I benefit from that, even today. So I give Bob the credit for standing by me through those phases; the early phases with [the late Jamaican producer] Sir Coxsonne [Dodd] at [Dodd’s famous recording studio] Studio One, and being a real support to me. He did a lot for me.”
Looking forward, Mrs Marley hopes there will be a sequel to Marley, as she believes there is much more to be told about her late husband’s life.
“I hope we’ll be able to make a part two because there was a lot more to Bob’s life. His work didn’t die with him; his legacy continues through his family. There is no end to Bob Marley’s reign. He will always be part of the existing world. Times change, generations change, but Bob Marley stays with the world. His work lives on.”
And of her own reputation, what does she make of the critics who have condemned the way she has dealt with her husband’s legacy since his passing?
“The good overcomes the evil and the good comes more than the bad,” she says softly. “I see the negative things as obstacles we have to overcome, just like hurdles.
“The good overcomes the evil and the good comes more than the bad,” she says softly. “I see the negative things as obstacles we have to overcome, just like hurdles.
No comments:
Post a Comment