The best friends have been on the show since 2014
Gogglebox: Mishap leaves Jenny covered in cream
It’s fair to say Channel 4’s Gogglebox wouldn’t be the same without best friends Jenny and Lee.
The pair have kept us entertained since 2014, with their quick quips, excellent side-eye reactions and brutal digs at each other.
Since their debut on the Channel 4 show, we have seen Jenny show off her detective skills with her ‘H’ notebook during the final series of Line of Duty, Lee accidentally eating Jenny’s face cream after thinking it was delicious dip, and Jenny staining all of Lee’s white washing orange after mistakenly chucking in a coloured towel.
Outside the spotlight, the pair from Hull have been friends for decades after a chance encounter in a pub. But what do we know about their lives outside of the Channel 4 series?
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Who are Jenny and Lee and how did they meet?
Jenny and Lee’s friendship began over two and a half decades ago in a pub called The Crown Inn in Paull, where Jenny was then the landlady, back in 1994.
In an interview with Ireland’s Big Issue magazine, Jenny reminisced: “Lee was a customer at my pub, The Crown Inn in Paull. He became a regular in 1994 and used to come in pretty much every night with his partner and we were friends from the off. We’ve been best friends ever since.”
Lee joked about their first meeting, saying: “I wish I’ve never gone in the pub it cost me a fortune. When I first met her she had a perm and I can remember thinking, ‘She needs a haircut’. We were firm friends immediately.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever had an argument. We’re too placid to argue. She makes me laugh too much for me to ever fall out with her.”
Jenny said the pair loved to watch TV together even before the show happened. The pair even moved in together during Covid-19 pandemic to allow them to continue filming for Gogglebox.
Jenny is 69 years old and Lee turned 57 in September 2024.
How did Jenny and Lee join Gogglebox?
Recruiters from the Channel 4 show approached Jenny at Beverley Races Ladies’ Day if she would appear on the show with her husband. Instead, she persuaded Lee to join her, but he needed some convincing.
Lee recounted to the Hull Daily Mail: “I’wasn’t [at Beverley Races] but she asked me if I wanted to sit and do a test filming with her,” adding that he was initially reluctant as he hadn’t seen the show and wasn’t thrilled about being woken up early on his day off.
Jenny said the magic of Gogglebox is it features ordinary people doing what everyone around the country is doing – watching TV and having a good old chat about it.
“It’s just ordinary people reacting as anyone would,” she said. “I think people watch and see themselves, ‘Oh, I do that, or, I said that’.”
“It’s all completely natural,” said Lee.
“You forget the cameras are there and you just act normally.”
It is not currently known if Jenny and Lee work. Jenny was formerly a pub landlord while Lee has been quiet about his own career.
Are Jenny and Lee in a relationship and who are their partners?
Jenny is happily married to Ray, who prefers to stay off-camera. She also has great grandchildren who appeared on the Channel 4 series.
Lee, who is currently in a relationship with Steve Mail and have been together for a solid 30 years. They enjoyed a long-distance relationship with Steve residing in Cyprus and Lee enjoys visiting the idyllic Mediterranean island to treasure some moments with his boyfriend.
On Instagram in October 2024, Lee marked his partner’s birthday with a warm message, encouraging Steve to make his day the “happiest” but with a light-hearted caveat not to have “too much fun” since he couldn’t join him in Cyprus for the celebrations.
To set off his birthday post, Lee selected a charming selfie with Steve, captioning it: “Wishing this gorgeous person that’s the one on the left a very happiest of birthdays.”
“Have fun, not too much as I can’t be there in Cyprus to celebrate with you. Love ya to the moon Steve xx”.
Do Jenny and Lee live together and who owns the caravan?
Gogglebox is currently filmed in Lee’s caravan which is based in Patrington Haven caravan park in Hull. Jenny meanwhile lives with her husband Ray at a separate location.
Back in spring 2020, during the initial lockdown, Jenny and Lee did live together temporarily. The purpose was to keep the Gogglebox show running while Lee’s partner Steve was away in Cyprus.
They announced their joint lockdown via their communal Twitter account, sharing their setup: “Well what can we say it’s Friday and it’s still on #Gogglebox.”
“Jenny and me watching together as we are both on lockdown TOGETHER friends with no benefits I may add an hour of laughs stay safe stay well #StayHomeSavesLives.”
After a lengthy nine-week stint in the caravan, Jenny decided it was time to head back home to Ray. She jokingly asked Lee on camera: “I’ll miss you when I go home. Have you bought me a leaving present? ” To which Lee retorted with his typical humour: “Yeah. A f**king suitcase,”.
