Gogglebox is back on Channel 4 and sisters Amira and Amani Rota will be offering up their opinions on the latest TV shows and films. While Amira joined in 2017, her sister Amani did not become part of the show until 2018. Amira first appeared with her friend Iqra before her sister Amani took over the role. While many think Amira is the eldest sibling, she is in fact two years younger than Amani. As of March 2024, Amira was 26 years old and Amani was 28. Amira’s latest known job was as a retail manager at Smyth’s Toys, whereas her sister works in customer service. While the pair are known to live at home in London with their parents, they actually have three other siblings. However, they keep out of the spotlight and have not yet appeared on the show. Amira explained how she landed the Gogglebox job on her first day of university, when two members of the casting team approached her at a shopping centre.
Amira Rota and Amani Rota attend the TV Choice Awards 2024
Her friend Iqra sat alongside her for a short time but when she decided she did not want to continue, the producers wanted her sister on board. Speaking to Heat World, Amira admitted Amani was “very hard to convince”. “I was,” Amani agreed. “My personality is not very out there. I didn’t have the confidence to do it to begin with, but then I got out of my comfort zone and said yes.” Amira said it would be great to see their dad on the show, feeling he would be “hilarious”, but she added: “He wouldn’t be up for it, because he’s a shy guy, but some of the comments he makes, I’m like, ‘They would love you’.” The sisters admitted they do watch the show back but will skip past their segments as they are “too cringe”.
Amira and Amani were brought closer together by the show
Off-screen, they have kind words to say about some of their co-stars including brothers Tristan, Twaine and Tremaine Plummer and siblings Pete and Sophie Sandiford. They were starstruck by Mary Killen and her husband Giles Wood who asked them lots of questions at a Gogglebox Christmas party. The pair opened up about what other shows they would like to go on, after joking about appearing on Love is Blind. Amira added: “We come from a Somali household, so [mum would] love to marry us off in an experiment like that. She’d go, ‘Well, you’ve got no more choices. Come on!'” They shared how working on the show together has brought them closer together as siblings and they rarely argue as a result. Working very different hours, they hardly ever see one another at home, so time they spend filming Gogglebox is their opportunity to have a catch up. Gogglebox airs on Channel 4 on Fridays at 9pm
