June Bernicoff has revealed that she hasn’t been able to watch telly since the death of her husband Leon in 2017
The couple had been married for over 50 years when they first rose to fame as the first confirmed cast members of pioneering reality show Gogglebox, which films regular people as they sit down to watch TV in their own homes.
Viewers were instantly smitten by the retired teachers’ relationship, with Leon constantly sneaking snacks behind his wife’s back, and the kind of bickering that only comes after decades together.
So when Leon passed away after a short battle with pneumonia and sepsistwo years ago, the nation was heartbroken.
Now June, who chose not to continue filming on her own, has opened up about how difficult it has been to watch the TV without her husband by her side, after Leon spent the last years of his life enjoying fame by doing just that.
“I don’t watch much TV these days, if I’m honest,” she told The Mirror. “I find it difficult. I’ve been reading a lot more, or listening to the radio, but I just feel restless whenever I sit down to watch it.
“I find myself getting up to make a lot of cups of tea and I can’t settle.”
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Gogglebox Throwback Pictures
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2 of 28Scarlett Moffatt, then
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4 of 28Betty Moffatt, then
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5 of 28Mark Moffatt, now
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6 of 28Mark Moffatt, then
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7 of 28Ava Moffatt, now
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8 of 28Ava Moffatt, then
Scarlett recently added this sweet throwback of her and her little sister Ava, from ten years ago!
9 of 28Chris Steed, now
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10 of 28Chris Steed, then
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12 of 28Stephen Webb, then
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14 of 28Steph and Dom, then
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18 of 28Nikki and Amy Tapper, then
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19 of 28Jonathan Tapper, now
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20 of 28Jonathan Tapper, then
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21 of 28Andrew and Carolyne Michael, now
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22 of 28Andrew and Carolyne Michael, then
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26 of 28Reverend Kate and Graham Bottley, then
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28 of 28Jenny and Lee, then
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But the mother and grandmother reveals that Leon’s spirit remains present in the house they shared together since meeting at teacher training college in 1955.
“People talk about how difficult it is coming into an empty house, nut it’s funny, I never really feel the house is empty somehow,” she says. “Leon was such a large figure… I can hear him saying things like, ‘Why have you got this nonsense on?’ when I’m listening to Classic FM.
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“It’s strange going out on my own, though, and things like driving the car are hard, because he always wanted to be behind the wheel.”
Back in September June released a memoir about her life with Leon,and said that the public’s reaction to his death has been a huge comfort.
“People just keep stopping me and giving me a squeeze to tell me they’re sorry about losing Leon,” she says.
‘He was so well-liked and so kind-hearted – there isn’t a Big Issue seller in the city who didn’t know him. He’d stop for every homeless person on the street, and would say, ‘I’ve got the money to give.'"