Alastair Campbell 'hated' appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox, according to his daughter Grace, who said the former Number 10 chief press secretary did not enjoy his time on the Channel 4 reality show.
Campbell, 69, appeared on the show in 2023 alongside his 32-year-old daughter to share their reactions to the latest TV and box office hits. Grace, a comedian and podcast host, told Bang Showbiz: 'My dad hated it from start to finish. He did not enjoy it. It wasn't that pleasurable because he was in quite a bad mood.'
Impatient with the filming process
Grace explained that her father, who hosts The Rest Is Politics, struggled with the pace of production. 'My dad's quite impatient; he doesn't understand that cameras take a while to set up and all of that stuff,' she said. 'So I enjoyed it, I was very happy that we were doing it, but he was a bit like, "What is this?"'
She also noted that he had 'never watched the show before' and was going into the experience without knowing what to expect.
Left out of the final edit
The situation was made worse when Campbell, who previously served as Tony Blair's spokesperson, was largely absent from the broadcast version. Grace said they felt they were 'hardly' in the show despite spending hours filming reactions.
'We watched it, and we were hardly in the edit. We were like, "Did they miss us?"' she said, referring to the show's producers.
Grace's fond memories and tour plans
While the experience ranks 'relatively high' in Grace's career, her father became 'dysregulated and amusing' during filming. Grace admitted she had 'forgotten' they were on the show until friends started messaging her about her socks.
'I wore odd socks which, like, none of my friends have forgiven me for,' she joked. 'They were like, "Your feet were on TV, and you're wearing odd socks."'
Despite her fond memories, Grace is not sure another joint appearance is likely. 'But I don't think he and I are a natural double-act in the way that some people and their parents are because I think I'm quite chilled, and he likes things to be done quite quickly,' she said.
Grace is currently touring the UK and Ireland with her third national comedy tour, The Lady Is a Tramp, which begins on Halloween. She is performing in Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin and more until early December, with tickets on sale now.
