She’s proved to be one of the show’s most popular stars, but Gogglebox’s Sandra Martin has now revealed she once spent six months in prison.
The 54-year-old from Brixton in South London endured a stint behind bars in 1984 after being convicted of fraud.
As the self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Gogglebox’, mum-of-four Sandra, who is seen on the sofa alongside daughter Chanchez, has won millions of fans since 2013 thanks to her no-nonsense opinions and trademark cackle.
Speaking about her time at Her Majesty’s pleasure, she said: “It was a very long time ago and I deeply regret it. I’ve turned my life around since then and have put this behind me.”
The revelation came to light when one of Sandra’s former inmates spotted her on TV.
The unnamed woman, who was serving three years at Drake Hall in Staffordshire for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, recalled the moment she first spotted Sandra: “I said to my partner, ‘I know that woman.’ I recognised her straight away. All of the memories from all those years ago came right back.”
But the mum-of-five was less than complimentary about Sandra and the spell of time they spent together, saying: “She was scary from the word go and she made my time at Drake Hall horrific.”
“She strolls around like she’s a lovely person but she wasn’t.”
As you’d expect, Sandra was quick to hit back: ”I strongly refute any accusations of bullying. It didn’t happen.”
Meanwhile, a Channel 4 official said: ‘We do not comment on the private lives of individuals. We have been aware of Sandra’s spent convictions since we began filming with her, which relate to non-violent offences.”
As one of Gogglebox’s original stars, Sandra has been making the most of her new-found fame and embracing her new celebrity status by attending red carpet events and even doing some plus-sized modelling.
But it remains to be seen whether this bombshell revelation will diminish her rising star power.