Gogglebox: 'Fans are like old friends,' says Umar Siddiquis

Gogglebox star Umar Siddiqui has revealed fans feel like they know the family because they see them at their most normal and relaxed.

Umar, his brother Baasit and dad Sid are among the families who have shot to fame in the hit Channel 4 show which simply shows people in their living rooms watching TV.

Umar said: “They approach you in such a way, like they’ve known you for a very long time. And it’s a nice feeling.”

The Siddiqui family on Gogglebox (Channel 4)

Dad Sid admitted that at first he didn’t realise “what a big deal” it is for fans to have their picture taken with him, but he and his sons insisted they definitely don’t see themselves as celebrities.

Sid said: “We’re not acting, if we were asked to act it would all go wrong, I know that for a fact. The fact that we are ourselves, how difficult can that be?”

Umar added: “To be part of a programme where you’re not performers, we’re just doing something that everybody does, to be whisked out of that and put in a situation that is for celebrities, I think we cope with it all right.”