GOGGLEBOX’S STEPHEN & DANIEL
The Gogglebox couple have Katie Holloway in stitches with their surprising admissions
Speaking to Stephen Webb and Daniel Lustig over Zoom, it’s a little bit like we’re watching an episode of Gogglebox, except they’re watching us and not the week’s most interesting telly. And just like an episode of the hit Channel 4 show, Stephen, 49, tends to take charge, while Daniel, 45, peppers the conversation with witty quips and lols at his husband’s jokes. The couple have been together for seven years, and own a rather trendy – “no blue rinses”– hair salon in West Sussex.
The pair – and their three poodles – take to our photo shoot like ducks to water. Shy and retiring? Not these two. Fabulous runs in their blood. And while we feel like we’ve known Stephen and Daniel for years, thanks to being invited into their living room every Friday night, we learn all sorts about them during our chat. From Zoe Ball and courgettes, to psychic dogs and an Everest story from Stephen that you just will not believe… Has filming Gogglebox brought some normality back to your lives? Stephen: Yeah, because we’d been doing nothing during lockdown. So, now we’re back doing Gogglebox, it just feels normal again. Do you watch it on Fridays? Daniel: Yeah! Of course, we always watch it. That must be very meta for you… S: We just honestly laugh out loud, I don’t even know how many times. Do you have any sort of routine for filming days? D: Erm, gin and tonic? S: Yeah, we have recently bought a drinks trolley. So, we pour ourselves a couple of gin and tonics. D: And have a nice takeaway. S: We relax into it. It’s just so much a part of life now. Is there anything you dread having to watch? Horror films, maybe? D: Oh no, I think horror films are great – I love watching them.
S: We love a bit of spooky. But no, not really. I mean, we’re not that politically minded, so maybe when we have to watch politics, but that’s because I just never understand what they’re saying. D: We have to break it down, don’t we? Sometimes we have to Google things. We’re sure you’re not alone there! And as fans of the show yourselves, who are your favourite Goggleboxers? S: Oh, I don’t know if that would be fair to say... You can name more than one... S: Well, it’s got to be Mary and Marina. For me, anyway. D: Mine are Ellie and Izzi – I just love them! Stephen, you’re a series one veteran – did you ever think you would still be doing it all these years later? S: No! I’m always surprised when
I get asked back every year. I’ve nicknamed myself the Ken Barlow of Gogglebox. I’ll be on it until the end. I’ll be in my nursing home and I’ll probably have a purple rinse. You guys can be the next Mary and Marina… S: [Laughs] Yes! Wouldn’t that be amazing if it goes on for another 30 years? I’d be 80 then – I would be miserable. Daniel, did you take much convincing to do the show? D: I’ve always watched and loved the show. I’ve been with Stephen for seven years now, so when I had the chance to sit on the sofa myself, I jumped at it. Did you meet each other through your hairdressing?
S: No, we first met in the queue at the Hove Town Hall buying parking permits. How romantic! S: I know, darling! I think that was when I’d just done series one, and then we moved in with each other after about six months. D: Then, about a year later, we opened the salon. S: The year after that, we got married – three times. Three times? S: Well, we did the legal part in Brighton Registry Office. Then we took 70 of our friends and family to a chateau in France. And then we went on safari last September, and decided to do it again. Amazing! Do you think you’ll get married every year perhaps? S: Well, the next one we want to do is Vegas. We want to do a drive-thru wedding and then go for a drive-thru burger. We’re in love with getting married. It’s just such a good day, isn’t it? D: It is a good day. S: [Sings] Me, me, me, me, me! D: [Laughs] Stephen loves it. I’m waiting for more rings! Was it nice to be able to get back into your salon after lockdown ? D: It was so amazing to go back, because it is our baby. It’s the first business we’ve ever had together.
We’ve got lots of really lovely clients because we’re in a little village – it’s so nice. S: Most of my clients are of a certain age… D: Old. S: Mary and Marina-style. And I’ve obviously got all their numbers on the database, so I was checking in with them through lockdown. One of them, I’d phone up and she’d start crying. She’s 86 and she was like, “I’ve really missed you!” So, yeah, I’ve missed all my old dears. But they all have trendy haircuts – no blue rinses at Lustig and Webb! Marina [the 86 year old] – she has pillar-box red hair. Wow! Very trendy... D: They come to the door and they’re like, “STEVE! STEVE!” S: Ha, they do. It was really good just to get back to work, like Daniel said. That salon is just like an extension of our home. It’s been hard with the restrictions because we have to wear masks and visors and gowns, and so do the clients. And we can’t give them any drinks. My clients love a hug and a kiss, so all that had to stop. We do air
‘I’m always surprised when I get asked back every year’
kisses instead now. Do people come into the salon because they’ve seen you on Gogglebox? S: Oh, yeah. There’s one couple we’ve actually become really good friends with as well. They live up in Nottingham, but they come down at least once a year. I’m actually going on holiday with them soon. D: Some people come in, but don’t tell you they’re superfans. I’ll ask if they watch the show, and they will say they don’t, but then proceed to ask loads of questions. Are there any celeb barnets you would love to get your hands on? S: I’ve always said Judy Finnigan– I would love to sort her out. And who’s just got the sack from A Question Of Sport? Sue Barker? S: Yes! She’s always got a bit of a dodgy haircut. She needs an update. Both of them do. D: I’d like to do Zoe Ball as she lives around the corner now, and you’d have so much fun with her. S: Daniel saw her in Waitrose the other day and she screamed and went, “Oh my God, it’s
Daniel from Gogglebox!” D: I was like, “Oh my God, it’s Zoe Ball!” while looking at courgettes in the veg aisle. Did you do each other’s hair over lockdown? D: I did colour your hair, didn’t I? S: Yeah, he did. He put some highlights in it for me. But we live in the country, so lockdown was amazing for us because we just went for loads of walks with the dogs. [Right on cue, one of the couple’s poodles appears]. Who have we got here? S: This is Babs. And you also have Betsey and Princess – where did their fabulous names come from? D: Betsey I had before I met Stephen. She’s named after my great aunt, who was a psychic healer. What a thing to live up to... D: I know, right? She’s definitely psychic, though, I can tell. S: And they’re really close – Betsey follows him everywhere. I was like, “I want my own dog, I want a dog to love me!” So, then we got Babs. And Princess is Babs’ mum. The breeder had Princess and bred her again, and we had one of her puppies, and then the breeder was moving abroad and asked us if we wanted Princess, so we took her as well. D: And Princess is Betsey’s sister, so they’re all related. A real family affair! Well, we feel like we’ve learned so much more about you already. Anything else that might surprise us? S: Well, people always seem surprised when I tell them that I once trekked solo to Everest Base Camp. Er, what? S: Yeah! I got a flight to Kathmandu, and I was looking for a tour to go up there, but I couldn’t quite afford it. So, I thought, “I could get up there on my own surely?” I took a flight to Lukla, which is the last place you can fly to on the Himalayas, and I thought I’ll just land there and get a cab to the nearest town. But, of course, you’re landing in the Himalayas, so there are no towns or cabs. Right… And I started walking. On the first day, I walked for about eight hours. It took me two weeks to get up and about four days to get down. These stories normally end with, “And then they found his body in the snow…” S: Well, funny you should say that because every so often, you come across graves, where people have got altitude sickness and died, and they just leave them there. Every few miles, you stop at a little wooden shed and you have to sign in, so that if you disappear, they know which part you disappeared in. D: I’m surprised that you didn’t get lost, to be honest. S: I went with a little backpack with a sleeping bag and 12 tins of tuna in it [Laughs]. D: What I love about the story when you hear it in depth is that he didn’t have any gear, so he basically just went in a pair of trainers. He had a Walkman and a pack of fags. S: Still did it – £450 it cost me to get up there and back. So, that’s something people would probably be surprised to learn about me. ■
Gogglebox is on Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4