Real life: Gogglebox’s June on late husband Leon
They rose to fame on the hit TV show Gogglebox. But Leon and June Bernicoff, who met at teacher-training college and went on to spend six decades together, were a down-to-earth couple. June shares their off-screen life – and love – story
‘He held out a packet of 20 Senior
Service, and I was impressed’
When June Edwards first set eyes on Leon Bernicoff in September 1955, she had no idea of the extraordinary path their shared life would take.
The couple were catapulted to stardom after appearing on Channel 4’s Gogglebox, a show that films families watching and reacting to the past week’s TV. Neither could have anticipated what a hit Leon’s frank opinions and colourful use of language would make him with the viewing public.
And yet, over the course of 10 series, June and Leon became national treasures. So, when his death was announced last December, the nation was shocked and saddened, and, of course, no-one more so than his wife of 57 years.
June remembers vividly the day they met in the halls of their teacher-training college in Alsager, Cheshire. ‘I was sitting in the college lounge, listening to the other students discussing history, when one of them leant across and offered me a cigarette,’ she says. ‘He held out a packet of 20 Senior Service, and I was immediately impressed. I could only afford a packet of 10!’
Leon Bernicoff – or Les, as he used to call himself – was a man unlike any other June had met before. Fair-haired and handsome, he was a 21-yearold Jewish boy from Ellesmere Port who’d already served two years in the Royal Artillery.
‘I’d barely set foot outside of my small, Welsh mining town, but Leon talked about visiting London regularly and going on holiday to Belgium,’ says June. ‘He seemed like a real man of the world to me.’
After that, Leon and June met several times in the lounge. But it wasn’t until he sold June a ticket to the soccer club dance that romance began to blossom.
‘At the end of the night,
Leon asked me if I’d like to take a stroll outside,’ says June. ‘That was the beginning of our life together.’
For as long as she’d known him, Leon had that innate sense of mischief that made him such a hit on Gogglebox. But there was a caring side to him, too. In June 1957, just before their final exams,
Leon and June went on a hiking trip to Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, with some university friends. Only, near the top, June slipped and slid off the path. Luckily, one of their group managed to pull her back.
‘After that, Leon refused to let go of my arm and led me all the way to the summit, where he hugged me so tightly,’ June says.
A couple of months later, both June and Leon graduated and got jobs at schools in Liverpool. But, while June lived in the city, Leon moved back to his parents’ house in Ellesmere Port. However, they continued their relationship long-distance.
Finally, on 27 June 1959 – her 22nd birthday – Leon proposed to June.
Just over a year later, they married in a small, civil service in south Wales. ‘As we began to take our vows, we heard this roll of thunder and an almighty crack of lightning,’ June recalls. ‘Later, of course, Leon would joke that it was an omen!’
The couple moved to
Allerton in Liverpool, and, three years later, in
April 1963, their
first daughter,
Helen, was born, followed by Julie in January 1965.
Leon was a devoted father. ‘When they were young, Helen and Julie loved Leon reading them bedtime stories,’ June smiles. ‘But, Leon being Leon, he’d embellish the stories and perform in dramatic voices. If anything, it got the girls more excited before bed!’
When the family bought two cats, Tiger and Fudge, Leon penned a whole series of stories about them, which he later published in a book called The Adventures of Tiger and Fudge.
He claimed the cats could talk, and would start doing their voices at the dinner table. Despite being almost teenage, the girls found it hilarious.
‘“Stop talking like the cats!” I said to him once. Laughing, he replied, “Oh, so you do believe the cats can speak, then?’’’ laughs June.
In the 1990s, grandchildren arrived – Frances and Sam to Helen and her husband Ian, then Faye to Julie and her husband Marc.
Leon loved fussing over the girls, but shared a special bond with Sam over their love of sport, and would watch him play football on weekends.
As well as his family, Leon’s other great love was bridge, and it was at a bridge game in the spring of 2012
that he was first introduced to the producers of Gogglebox.
‘“We’re going to be on the telly, June!” he shouted as he came rushing through the door that afternoon,’ says June. ‘Of course, I thought it was another one of his wind-ups.’
But, 48 hours later, two members of a production company called Studio Lambert arrived at their home to screen-test them.
‘They explained the premise of this new show: we’d be filmed in our sitting room watching TV, and our opinions would be edited, along with other families’, into a collective review of the preceding week’s programmes,’ says June. ‘If
I’m honest, it all sounded a bit simplistic to me.’
But Leon’s frank opinions and witty epithets won over the production team and, on Thursday 7 March 2013, the first episode of Gogglebox was broadcast.
‘It was so strange, watching ourselves in our sitting room,’ remembers June. ‘At one point, they showed Leon passing wind, and
I was mortified!’
The next day, the director called, congratulating them on their appearance. However, Leon’s main concern was that they hadn’t been featured enough – although he needn’t have worried.
Over the next four years, he and June appeared in 10 series of the show, which went on to win a BAFTA in 2014 and even saw June and Leon being interviewed on The One Show to appeal for votes.
‘If you vote for Gogglebox, then June will show you her knicks!’ Leon memorably promised, live on air, much to June’s embarrassment.
But, while many people might have found the Gogglebox filming schedule something
of an imposition, for June and Leon, it provided a welcome structure to their lives – particularly as Leon’s health started to deteriorate during the last three years.
It was during the filming of the 10th series last autumn that June became particularly worried about him. ‘He seemed tired,’ she says.
Leon, however, was insistent that they sign up for the next series. But, on 23 December, after being admitted to hospital 10 days previously, he died peacefully in his sleep.
In the New Year, the first episode of series 11 of Gogglebox was dedicated to Leon.
‘We were married for 57 years,’ says June. ‘And, in that time, Leon taught me so much about making the most of life and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
‘Yes, he was mischievous, funny and a little irreverent at times,’ she continues fondly. ‘But, behind that, Leon firmly believed in the need to care for people in this life – and that’s exactly what he did for me and all
our family.’
‘Leon taught me so much about
making the most of life’
Leon & June Life, Love and Laughter:
Our Story by June Bernicoff (£16.99, Bonnier Publishing) is out 20 September 2018.