STEPH AND DOM: ‘People fed us and gave us pink champagne’

Posh Gogglebox superstars Steph and Dom Parker go on the run in the ace Celebrity Hunted…

Going off grid when you’re famous probably isn’t easy. What was your plan? STEPH, 51: It was to rely on other people – and wing it! DOM, 52: Definitely to do it comfortably, because we weren’t going to be rummaging around in hedges or walking [instead, the pair got about in open-top cars and the like]. We went very much on the basis of, “If I didn’t know where we were, then how can they (the Scotland Yard experts) possibly know where we were?” Did you intend to drink all the way through the 14 days? DOM: Not especially. Although we did have a lot of good lunches, and there was one night where we literally stayed with people we had never met before. We sat by their pool and they fed us and gave us pink champagne. How were your reflexes the morning after? STEPH: They weren’t the quickest, even when we started! Everyone else scarpered like a bomb had gone off and I was like, “F*** that, I’m walking, not running!” I get all sweaty. Was it scary getting wind of your captors being nearby? BOTH: Yes! DOM: It’s not a nice experience. STEPH: You are absolutely locked in. Even though you know it’s a TV show, and you’re not really a fugitive, it’s fight or flight and it kicks in so quickly. DOM: I wouldn’t want to have to do it for real, absolutely not. How did your kids [the pair are parents to son Max, 16, and daughter Honor, 14), feel about your being on the show? STEPH: They were like, “Really? A backpack?” DOM: And, “You’re going to run?” STEPH: I said to them, “No, we are taking a wheelie suitcase. But I got all my clothes from Primark so I could throw them away or donate them to charity shops on the way. I thought that was a genius idea. DOM: I wore some stretchy Primark jeans, but I didn’t have time to put on a belt and they kept slipping down. It was quite awkward with all that charging about – I could’ve ended up doing a moonie. Did it help or hinder that you are well-known faces? DOM: It helped! One guy offered to open up his home to us. We didn’t take him up on it, though, because he brewed his own cider and we thought that was a little bit dangerous… Did everyone offer you a drink? DOM: Pretty much. There’s an incredible shot where we are standing in a field, on an overgrown track, and a girl comes round the corner with four beers on a tray. Unbelievable! STEPH: It was very hot. DOM: We were thirsty…