Chantelle Walker, 26, appeared alongside her mother Elizabeth and sister Monique on Gogglebox in 2020. The family were over the moon with the opportunity, but were then left in the dark for months, with Channel 4 eventually telling them “there weren’t enough cameras” to film them when, in fact, their contract was just not renewed. Chantelle has spoken out on the show, telling all about her “disappointing” experience, where she filmed in an Airbnb and was given a choice of limitless takeaways, before her prompt departure.
Chantelle was scouted for the show after a TikTok of hers went viral where she danced to pigeon noises.
She also had offers from The Circle and “another that wanted people and their nans” but settled for Gogglebox with her “confident” mum and sister.
However, during her Gogglebox stint, she was informed the Channel 4 team had been “pausing filming” for a while.
Months later, they found out their contracts had not been renewed, with Chantelling claiming to The Sun: “They told us they ‘didn’t have enough cameras to film us’ and something to do with the lockdown.
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“We thought they were going to come back and restart filming in the next season.”
Chantelle said Channel 4 viewers were “shocked” over the news and they couldn’t understand why it had happened, as she claimed there was “no discussion” with the TV company.
Chantelle also claimed that the family filmed in an Airbnb with her bringing stuff to make it look like a home.
She also said they were offered “whatever dinner” they wanted with the selection of all the delivery apps and there “wasn’t any limit” on what they could order.
Chantelle continued the aforementioned publication: “It was a really good experience doing Gogglebox… but it was a bit disappointing, I feel like we should have had more airtime but they chose to use less of us.
Jenny and Lee returned to our screens last month for the new series of Gogglebox alongside other favourites, including sisters Izzi and Ellie Warner and the show’s other popular sibling duo, Pete and Sophie Sandiford.
Paige Deville has also spoken out against Gogglebox since she quit in 2021, after appearing alongside her estranged mother Sally Hayward.
She previously told The Sun: “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.”
According to the star, filming involved families watching 15-minute clips from five different shows each week.
This comes after Paige revealed she’d fallen out with her mum, which is one reason she decided to quit.
Talking to Birmingham Live, Paige said: “There have been problems within the family and my mum was given an ultimatum.
“The decision means I have nothing to do with her now. I think the decision is irreversible. It is very sad but that’s life, unfortunately.”
