Gogglebox film crews sit outside stars’ houses with their own toilets so filming can continue says Channel 4 boss
GOGGLEBOX film crews set up camp outside stars' homes and have their own toilets so that the Channel 4 show can keep filming.
With the coronavirus causing havoc in the TV industry, Gogglebox has adopted a novel way of working as usual.
Ian Katz, the channel's director of programmes, said at the Edinburgh Television Festival: "Obviously the first things to go were the productions abroad in particular in places where the coronavirus epidemic had moved on a few weeks from us… then some of the bigger productions where you had a couple of hundred people on productions… scripted was hit very early on… it quite quickly became a battle to keep key productions up and running.
"And one of the things I'm so proud of is the way we were able to identify key productions for us and keep them on air. One of the real miracles has been the way Gogglebox has stayed on air."
He went on to reveal that crews work from vans outside the houses where they operate cameras remotely, and they have temporary toilets on hand should they need to go.
Last week the show was hit by Ofcom complaints as viewers accused it of breaking social distancing rules.
Concerned fans slammed the Channel 4 programme as some of the cast don't live in the same house, yet they are still filming together.
Since the lockdown rules came into force, Gogglebox has continued to air with rigged up cameras, to avoid a crew having to be in the cast homes.
However, some viewers have been concerned to see that some of the cast are still shooting the show, when they should be in separate homes as they don't live together.
The main ones coming under fire are sisters Ellie and Izzi.
Fans of the show were expecting to see Ellie joined by her boyfriend Nat who had previously taken Izzi's place during the UK's lockdown, but Izzi was back with her sister on the most recent episode last Friday (April 24).
Viewers then took to complaining Ofcom about the lack of social distancing on the show.
The watchdog exclusively told The Sun they had received 134 complaints.
The show has been rocked by coronavirus news.
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The reality TV star, 52, who has diabetes, was left "heaving with every breath" as his distraught family, who also caught Covid-19, anxiously watched by his bedside.
A spokesman for the family said: "I can confirm that the Tapper family all contracted Covid-19. We are really pleased to say the family are better - Jonathan is at the very end of his recovery and is now taking it easy."