If there's one thing we love more than watching TV, it's watching Goggleboxers Chris and Stephen watching TV.
This interview first appeared in heat magazine in May 2015. Words by Jordan Paramor
It's one of the first properly warm days of 2015 and heat is sat in Chris Steed's balmy back garden gearing up to grill our favourite _Gogglebox_ers on all things TV/romance/haircut-related.
We're not going to lie; we're a bit nervous. Not because Chris, 38, and his TV partner Stephen Webb, 43, are on telly and stuff, but because we love them so much we're a bit scared they may not live up to our expectations.
Thankfully they do. And then some.
Despite having been on one of the UK's best-loved shows for the past three years, the pair are blissfully untouched by fame and ego and still think it's all mildly hilarious that they're considered to be celebrities. They greet us with a warm hug, chat like we're mates hanging out in the pub and then make us laugh until our throat aches.
The Brighton-based hairdressing duo both have their own salons these days; Stephen co-owns a salon in Brighton with his fiance Daniel (they got engaged in January 2016), while Chris's salon is handily in his now-famous house. Aside from that the only other thing different about their lives is that people point at them in the street, they get invited to cool parties and end up as a LOT of people's screensavers. Probably.
We know you two aren't a couple now but you did date, didn't you?
Chris: We were together for the first series briefly.
Stephen: But we have been flirting a bit for the past few weeks too. We're only messing about though.
C: Well, Stephen's been flirting with me. He obviously still fancies me. [Shrugs] I can't blame him.
How long did you date for?
S: About eight months but we broke up twice. I took Chris for a meal both times and said 'it's over' but then we got back together. When we finally broke up for good he deleted me from Facebook and Twitter and everything.
Harsh. Where did you meet?
S: It was when we were both working at Toni and Guy in Brighton 13 years ago. I'd only just started…
C: And I came mincing through the salon.
S: He was literally like this [does a really camp impression of Chris walking]. We worked together for about six months, then I moved to London for years, and when I moved back we met up again and started f- [whispers a very rude word].
Who chatted up who?
S: I chatted him up and asked him out. I planned this really nice day out in London and booked the Oxo Tower and he turned up at Brighton station in a vest.
C: I had a hoodie with me too.
S: I was wearing a Prada shirt!
C: It was the only time he could fit into it.
So why did you split up?
C: Just because we're better as friends.
S: And we don't really fancy each other.
C: Well he fancied me more than I fancied him, clearly. We sort of rub each other up the wrong way sometimes. You can get away with that as mates but not when you're together.
How did you end up staying friends?
S: [Completely seriously] I just kept turning up at his house and phoning. I was like 'come on'. I was like a cat that wanted attention and feeding.
C: He's a persistent little sod. And you know what it's like when you first split up with someone; you don't want to see them.
S: He was heartbroken.
C: No I wasn't!
And you're both seeing other people now?
C: Yes, we’ve both got boyfriends, Tony and Daniel, but they wouldn’t ever come on Gogglebox. The dynamic is us two and the show...
Gogglebox series 7 starts on Friday 19 February at 9pm on Channel 4