SHE was one-half of the mother-daughter Brummie duo on Gogglebox and famously caused a stir for not knowing who ABBA were.
Paige Deville, 26, appeared alongside mum Sally Hayward for three seasons until she sensationally quit in 2021.
Paige Deville admits she ‘thought it was a joke’ when the Gogglebox team approached her
She appeared on the Channel 4 show for two years with mum Sally Hayward
In an exclusive chat with The Celeb Report, the recruitment business owner reveals how she ended up on the hit Channel 4 show, and shares behind-the-scenes secrets.
Paige says she was scouted by Gogglebox producers after they visited a local hair salon looking for new families, and “thought it was a joke” when she was invited to interview.
During the chats she recalls being asked to speak for 15 seconds about topics on flashcards.
She recalls: “There could be veganism or something silly like Greggs. So I’d say, ‘Mum, I love Greggs sausage rolls’ and then we’d talk about the frozen ones too.”
Paige was scouted after the producers went to a local hair salon
Families are offered a contract, which sets out how many weeks they have to film, their rate of pay – which typically starts at £100 a day, and depends on how popular the family is with viewers.
“Well-established characters may be getting two or three season contracts up front,” she adds.
On filming days the Gogglebox crew bring in cameras, lighting and speakers, which are used to communicate with producers, but apart from that they leave the lounge as is.
“They don’t change your room around or stage the room,” Paige explains.
“Sometimes there may be a donut or popcorn on the table to make it look homely, but you’re not necessarily going to eat it.”
Paige explains that families often avoid scoffing snacks because it could affect continuity between edits.
And that’s not the only thing they have to be mindful of.
“If there’s a pillow on your lap, they ask you not to move it because if they cut to another part of the recording, viewers would wonder when you moved it,” she says.
“Sometimes filming can be lengthy – if you start sitting a certain way, like with an arm around you, that’s the way you’ve got to film for that whole section.”
Paige says snacks are rarely eaten on the show due to continuity
Paige says filming often takes up to seven hours, during which they watch 15-minute clips from five popular shows three times over to get the best reactions.
“People think you’re just watching TV but you have to be on the ball and in constant high spirits, you can’t be on your phone,” she says.
“They film it three times in case they miss a reaction and to have different responses.
“At times it can be a bit like, ‘Right, I’m watching this again,’ but it’s a job at the end of the day.”
Paige describes filming as “tense but exciting” due to seeing such a variety of TV shows, usually in advance of them airing – and if you haven’t seen a show, producers will step in to help.
“I’d never watched Line Of Duty before,” she says. “But producers tell you what has happened and about the characters so you are prepped with something to say.
“Sometimes I was sitting there thinking, ‘I do not have a clue what’s the plot, what it’s about or who the characters are’.
“You have to sign a contract saying you can never talk about what happens on the show.
“Once we knew who had won a reality show before it aired – you really felt like you were in the know.”
Paige had never seen Line Of Duty until she was asked to on the show
While Paige insists producers don’t force cast members to say anything they don’t want to, she says they do make suggestions for how to react to an exciting or surprising scene – likening it to “a pantomime”.
“They wouldn’t tell you, ‘Say this word for word,’ but they prep you to say things and warn you about comments that won’t make it into the show,” she explains.
“Once Boris [Johnson] was on and I was like, ‘Oh my God, well he’s not done anything has he? What has he done for this country?’
“They were like, ‘That was never going to be aired Paige’ and wanted me to say something like, ‘Oh my God, he’s doing a great job.’
“If you’re watching a juicy clip, producers say, ‘You’re going to absolutely love this’ through the speakers.
“Sometimes they give you a ‘three, two, one’ countdown which gears you up and gets you ready to react. It’s a bit of a pantomime behind the scenes.
“You have to understand that you’re a character in a show and you can’t be your 100 per cent authentic self, otherwise everyone would be on their phones for half of the show.”
Paige claims producers ‘gear you up’ to respond in an animated way
Paige says the families don’t meet in real life, which she suspects is to avoid discussions about pay.
“Everyone is paid differently depending on how long they have been on it or how successful they are – more established people get a higher day rate,” she explains.
“We were on Gogglebox for just two years so were never going to get a mega-high day rate because people didn’t get the chance to know us.”
On top of their contracted hours, some are asked to provide holiday cover, which Paige says is a good way to boost screen-time and grow a following.
She adds: “Another way you know if you’re a ‘popular family’ is if you film a preamble and it’s shown.
“That’s the little clip before the TV shows, where the family is messing about, playing a board game or watering a plant.”
Trolling
One of the biggest struggles for Paige was dealing with online comments, which she describes as “a minefield”.
“I remember saying, ‘Who’s ABBA?’ on one episode and that blew up,” she recalls.
“There were comments like, ‘Who the hell doesn’t know ABBA?’, ‘What are the youth today?’ and other hurtful things.
“But you are a character in a show and people are laughing at you, good or bad, and taking the mick out of you.
“There were trolls and people would write negative things about what you said, how you looked or even silly things like how close me and my mum were sitting together on the sofa.”
The trolling Paige received contributed to her decision to leave the show – which coincided with her relationship with her mum breaking down. The pair still don’t speak.
She says Gogglebox offered to pair her up with another family but “it wouldn’t feel right” and would be “a different dynamic”.
‘I’m no couch potato’
Paige and mum Sally while filming Gogglebox
While she describes it as “an amazing experience”, she’s glad she left Gogglebox and moved on with her life.
“I didn’t want to be known as a couch potato,” she says.
“I felt like I was portrayed as thick, too, which is so far from the truth. I run my own business and have always been entrepreneurial.
“It was an amazing experience, one to show the kids one day, but I did my time and looking back now I’m glad I left.”
Paige claims she was approached for other shows including The Apprentice and dating programmes after her departure but decided to stay out of the limelight.
But even now, two years on, she’s still approached by fans.
“It’s crazy,” she says. “I’ve been recognised on holiday, at the airport and in the supermarket.
“When I was on the show I had to go shopping really late at night because otherwise I’d get stuck in the supermarket.
“You stop to chat to one person and then end up having lots of 10 minute conversations when all you wanted was to pop in for a pint of milk.”
Paige doesn’t foresee Gogglebox’s popularity waning anytime soon, adding: “I’m not surprised by its success.
“It’s lighthearted and upbeat, and you can watch it at any time of the day or night. It would work in any country.
“You can always keep it fresh too – it’s like EastEnders, where you have the same characters but you watch them grow.”
Studio Lambert did not respond to The Celeb Report’s request for comment.
