Two posh boozers watching the telly Undoubtedly, the surprise television hit of 2013 has been Channel 4"s Gogglebox. Who could have imagined that such a modest little programme, featuring a selection of families and couples watching television at home and commenting on the programmes they view together, would have been such a hit? Yet watching them watching their favourite shows has proved oddly captivating. Indeed, it has been the feelgood hit of the year, the show that sets Twitter alight every Wednesday night and provides the water cooler talking point the following day. The toast of reality TV: Steph and Dom Parker from Gogglebox, the surprise hit show of the year With its ironic voice-over and late-night slot, Gogglebox, which started in April this year, appeared to trumpet the last post for reality television. Watching a show on telly about watching a show on telly? It seemed like the last idea dragged from the back of the "new formats" file. Yet from the very first episode, it was a hit - and now the format has been sold all over the world, with American and Chinese broadcasters first in the queue to snap up the show. Viewers were bowled over with its depiction of ordinary folks and the dynamics of their relationships and family lives. Somehow it started to matter what the UK's most opinionated telly fanatics thought about the programmes they were watching - but other things mattered, too. There is something so charming about the way the Goggleboxers interact - even when arguing about Nigella's show or discussing who should be evicted from I'm A Celebrity, damp-eyed at some telly trauma or raging at Newsnight and Question Time. It also proved that if you left interesting people to their own devices, they would reward you by being effortlessly hilarious. Great editing and an excellent choice of families also play their part, and the series, which returns next year, has been a triumph for reality show king Stephen Lambert. His previous successes include Faking It, Undercover Boss, Wife Swap and a show called Four In A Bed, in which B&B owners stay in and then rate each other's establishments. 'I wonder how many windows they've got? We've got 63': Steph, 47, and Dom, 49, also run what could well be Britain's poshest bed & breakfast in a Lutyens Grade I listed building in Sandwich, Kent Everyone has their favourites on Gogglebox, from Leon and his wife June, retired teachers from Liverpool in their recliners, to adorable gay friends Stephen and Chris from Brighton. Stephen is particularly hilarious. The other week, when Chris was excited about his bottle of sparkling pink wine, Stephen was not impressed. "Knock yourself out, Sue Ellen," he quipped. Then there are Sandy and Sandra, pals from Brixton, drinking from a Pot Noodle container or demolishing giant takeaway meals, to comically highly strung teen Louis from Brighton, who told his mother to shut up during Doctor Who. Yet for many, the real stars of the show are Dominic and Stephanie Parker, otherwise known as The Posh Ones for their upper crust accents, chintzy sitting room and incessant drinking. So, how posh are they really? She was an army brat who once worked for military chiefs in Brussels, he went to Downside - one of the country's oldest Catholic schools - and his family business is in steel. Both their children attend private schools. Steph dotes on their sausage dog Gigi, and Dom reckons he has about five pairs of brightly coloured corduroy trousers. I think they pass the posh test with flying colours, don't you? In fact Steph, 47, and Dom, 49, also run what could well be Britain's poshest B&B in a Lutyens Grade I listed building in Sandwich, Kent. As Steph famously said when watching Downton Abbey: "I wonder how many windows they've got? We've got 63. Earlier this year, the couple put the house and its grounds on the market for £4.5 million. As we see them sink into their sofa and then sink a couple of giant drinks, here's what they think of being goggled on the gogglebox themselves . . . We don't mind being called The Posh Ones. The moniker has stuck. And we could be called worse things, to be honest. I met one lady who said that she used to hate posh people but had changed her mind since watching us. That was nice! I suppose another thing we are known for is our drinking. Do you know, I cannot spin this. It is true! It is very real. What you see is what you get with us. Drinking is exactly what we do - but I would be hard pushed to find anyone who does not sit down with a glass of wine at 6 or 7pm every evening. Sometimes I like a Screwdriver, I like a G&T, it all depends on the day. Sometimes I have just one drink. I think I am conscious of not getting drunk on camera. It is totally obvious when we have had too much to drink. You can't hide that. We drink, we enjoy ourselves, we watch telly then we go to bed. Even if we think we should be reading Plato, it is honestly how we relax and wind down. In a funny way, I think it has made lots of people feel better and less guilty about doing exactly the same thing. We drink, we enjoy ourselves, we watch telly then we go to bed: Steph says she and Dom don't mind being called The Posh Ones. 'We could be called worse things, to be honest,' she added Making Gogglebox works like this: The crew do actually come to our house. They put a remote camera in the room and then go to another room with their equipment. Dom and I are in the room for six, seven, sometimes eight hours at a time, there is no one else in there with us. You get used to it very quickly. You are aware that they are there, but it seems entirely natural. The thing I found difficult was talking through a programme. You have to talk a lot. Normally we would say, "Ooh, I don't like her dress," and move on. With Gogglebox, you have to analyse and comment continually, so you have to be able to concentrate and have a conversation at the same time. It takes a while to get the hang of, but we got there in the end. One of the things I said that got the most attention had nothing to do with television. One night Dom asked me what I wanted to drink. And I said: "That depends on whether or not you want sex tonight." If the answer was Yes, I wanted a vodka and Red Bull. If the answer was No, I wanted a nice, relaxing glass of Baileys. You work out what you are doing, don't you? And you think: "Oh God, please let it be a Baileys." So many women were tweeting, saying that is exactly how I feel. You feel horribly exposed on Gogglebox. That is why you will never see me on it in a pair of pyjamas. It's not that I don't watch telly in my jimjams - of course I do. I just don't want the world to see me like that. Sometimes, I think: "S***, I better say something intelligent." When we were watching Stephen Hawking, I thought: "Should I go and look up the Big Bang theory so that I sound like I know what I am talking about?" Ha ha, of course I didn't. Other times I think: "Oh God, don't I look stupid in front of everyone?" And sometimes, of course, I naturally do. You've just got to laugh. There is nothing I can do about that. But I do make an effort to look good. We are all bloody vain. Dom was watching the show one week and he said: "Look at me! I really need a haircut, why didn't you tell me? And I said: "I wasn't looking at you, I was looking at me." I'm always checking out my double chin and my grey bits and my fat bits. Slippers? No, no, never! Someone on Twitter commented about me: "Who the hell watches TV in a pair of brown riding boots?" And I tweeted back: "I do, with aplomb. And of course I am going to look like that because you are all looking at me. Having just had a very pleasant experience with Four In A Bed (as B&B owners, the couple took part in the show last year) we just assumed Gogglebox would be much more of the same - and it has. No one knew how it would pan out, if it would be a success. So for Steph and I, our simple principle was this; we will do it and if it is fun, we will carry on. And it has been fun. Steph says making Gogglebox is like a date night, and she is right. It is very romantic. We are forced into a situation where we have to sit down and talk to each other in a relatively jovial and fun way. We have to be polite - although, ha ha, Steph is not always polite. To be fair, I am not always on my best behaviour either. My best behaviour is a whole lot better than that! The important thing is we are not talking the usual s*** to each other about the business, about bills, about staff issues and life issues. We are talking about b****cks on the telly. And we are taking a night off to do it. And, of course, having a drink at the same time. I am pretty much on red wine - usually Rioja - most of the time, but sometimes I kick off with a gin and tonic or a vodka. I am very partial to a Bloody Mary, and I have to say, I make a bloody good one. We have a fairly well stocked cellar here. I am not sozzled: 'I am pretty much on red wine ¿ usually Rioja ¿ most of the time, but sometimes I kick off with a gin and tonic or a vodka,' says Dom On the show I am not sozzled, but not capable of driving a car. Well . . . there have been one or two occasions when I have been absolutely smashed. Did you see the one in the first series when the sofa went over? On that occasion I really was quite p***ed. When I watched that one being broadcast I looked at myself and thought: "Hmmmm. That was not a good look. As far as sex is concerned well, naturally, as a red-blooded Englishman, I am always hoping for Red Bull night, but sometimes you've just got to settle for a Baileys. We love all the other Gogglebox participants, we think they are fantastic. We are big fans of Leon and June from Liverpool. I am a particular fan of Mr Siddiqui and his three sons from Derby. I love their very dry sense of humour. It is all down to the humour in the end. STEPH: We both enjoy a lot of drama. We like lots of American dramas but having said that, we absolutely loved Broadchurch this year: terrific with a great cast. I like all the Scandinavian stuff like The Bridge and The Killing. I really loved Lilyhammer with Steven Van Zandt as a New York gangster trying to start a new life in Norway. Absolutely loved it! Dom doesn't really like foreign shows because it takes him ages to read the subtitles and he gets behind on the action, whereas I speed read. We both enjoy murder mysteries and we watch a lot of them together. Ripper Street - we loved that! What a shame it is not coming back. However, one of the real highlights of my television year was Educating Yorkshire. My God, what a fantastic programme it was. Inspirational. We both found it moving and adored it. Generally, I don't like any kind of slapstick humour. And I was never a fan of Dad's Army, but Dom loves it. We both like QI. I like things that are funny and clever, not funny and stupid. I watched Keith Lemon's show one week and thought: "Oh dear, no. Never again. Over Christmas? We will definitely watch Downton Abbey and of course The Queen's Message and just grab some of the rest when we can. I will be in the kitchen most of the time. Christmas viewing: We will definitely watch Downton Abbey and of course The Queen¿s Message and just grab some of the rest when we can, says Steph, although she adds that she will be in the kitchen most of the time DOM: Oh, I just can't stand Bruce Forsyth. I know it is awful to say that because he is the nation's darling, but it is true. I have really gone off him because in Strictly Come Dancing he just makes me cringe. I don't know who is writing his scripts for him, but they are appalling. Just embarrassing. What, he writes them himself? Oh God, does he? Poor chap, I do feel bad because everybody loves him. However, I very much enjoy Stephen Fry. He is more intelligent than most and always has interesting stuff to banter and talk about. I tend to watch anything he is on, but like Steph, I love QI. I like to watch comedies like Two And A Half men - that really appeals to me. I still like watching Friends, it is so funny. When The Hotel Inspector was on, I did like to watch that. In our B&B, we just made it up as we went along. It was great for us to see how other people were running their hotels and very reassuring for me to see that we are doing it right. I love things like Home Alone, I love kids" TV. Anything light-hearted and feelgood, like maybe a film with John Candy in it, and I am there. Gogglebox is back on Channel 4 in the New Year