‘People love me and I give them entertainment so they pay for my trips’, the Gogglebox star said (Image: Ian West/PA Wire)Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Get daily celeb exclusives and behind the scenes house tours direct to your inboxInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy NoticeGogglebox has introduced us to some of the best characters, providing us with a bundle of laughs and some of the most iconic moments on TV. But what we’ve often wondered is how much the stars of Gogglebox actually earn from their witty TV commentary. Sandra Martin, who lived off benefits before debuting on the Channel 4 series in 2013, claimed she earned a whopping £100,000 every year from appearing on the show. While Sandra is not allowed to disclose how much Channel 4 paid her to do Gogglebox, she previously told the Daily Mail: “It was the best wage I ever earned in my life and I got asked to do loads of celebrity appearances at events which Channel 4 would also pay me for”.
Sandra Martin (right) made her debut on Gogglebox in 2013 with her close friend Sandi Bogle
(Image: Channel 4)
She continued: “I paid tax on an income of £100,000. In fact, ever since I started doing Gogglebox in 2012, I have earned around £100,000 every year.” The TV star also explained that she only “had to do Gogglebox two days a week for six months of the year” and would still have time to sell items at car boot sales, something she has done since the age of 18. Sandra also shared that joining Gogglebox was the best ‘money decision’ of her life after she was approached for the show while enjoying a drink in her local pub in Brixton. At the time, Sandra was on benefits and reminisced in another interview: “I was tipsy because I’d been on the brandy and the bartender told him ‘Go to Queen Bee’ and it was the best thing that happened to me.” The Gogglebox star also revealed: “I got paid more than anyone else, more than any of the other families because they were working and I had to come off benefits to appear on the show. All the bills that you have to pay for in life they dealt with for me and left me around £300 to £500 a week on top of that to get my hair and nails done and other expenses.
Sandra claimed she earned ‘£100,000 a year’ following her Gogglebox success
(Image: Channel 4)
Sandra said she ‘had to do Gogglebox two days a week for six months of the year’
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Sign up to OK’s TV newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free “I could have bought a house with all the money I made but I gave it away, I took care of my family and friends. I filled their fridges, took them shopping to buy clothes and paid for meals.” In addition to her Gogglebox earnings, she claimed to have scored an advert to promote a Chinese TV show that paid £10,000 – and left her with £6,000 after tax. But since leaving the show in 2017, Sandra’s life has taken a dramatic turn, going from having “everything paid for” by Gogglebox to being jobless, living in temporary accommodation and selling merchandise to afford food. Sandra openly admitted earlier this year she’s “broke” and survives on £238-a-month Universal Credit, but that hasn’t stopped her from enjoying some lavish holidays much to the dismay of online trolls. She’s been whisked away to Ibiza, Amsterdam and Portugal among other places, all thanks to generous fans who are more than happy to foot the bill for her company. Speaking to The Sun, she revealed: “I’ve been on five holidays since Christmas Day and I’m going to Malta too, it’s all because of Gogglebox.
‘People love me and I give them entertainment so they pay for my trips’, the Gogglebox star said
(Image: ITV)
“I’ve been to Amsterdam, Portugal, Benidorm and lots of other places. Soon I’m going to Skegness. People love me and I give them entertainment so they pay for my trips. “It’s because I’ve got such a large platform, I’m on social media every day and talk to my fans. People are bored and I cheer them up. I get a lot of hate for it because I’m always on planes but people gift these trips to me. It’s a miracle really, they must have spent thousands of pounds on me.”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnGogglebox
