The Gogglebox 2017 Christmas special opened with Leon Bernicoff wrapping Christmas presents.
The cheeky Scouser was supposed to be getting a box of chocolates ready to hand over to someone else, but couldn’t resist nabbing a few for himself.
Leon called out to his beloved wife June, who was in the other room, for help as he couldn’t undo the cellotape.
Knowing her husband of 57 years all too well, June asked if he was having any sweets and warned him they were a present.
But the beloved telly star, who was known to have a sweet tooth, couldn’t help put down the cellotape and cheekily tuck into the chocolates on the side.
The hilarious moment was indicative of their loving relationship and how they brought laughter to the show, but it came after a devastating announcement.
Before the special show aired, the voiceover before the programme explained that Leon had sadly died the previous day.
They said: “Before Gogglebox begins we’re sorry to have to tell you the very sad news that Leon passed away in hospital yesterday.
“He will be sorely missed and we dedicate tonight’s show to his memory.”
Viewers were left heartbroken as they sent an outpouring of love towards June and the rest of their family.
They said the festive episode, which featured highlights from the 10th series from Leon and June, was the perfect tribute to the Gogglebox favourite.
Viewers had been unaware that Leon was secretly battling illness for months.
June later revealed that, against her wishes, Leon had been determined to appear for his fans during the Christmas special.
“He hadn’t been very well over the weekend, and I suggested he didn’t do it,” June said in an interview with Graham Norton.
“But Leon was determined not to let loyal viewers down, and told me, ‘I’m sitting here in my Christmas jumper waiting to entertain the nation’.”
The entire Gogglebox family grieved for Leon, who was popular amongst the rest of the cast as well as the viewing public.
Scarlett Moffatt led the tributes, describing him as being “loved by so many”, while fellow star Rev Kate Bottley also tweeted her condolences.
(Image: Collect Unknown)
Devoted wife June left Gogglebox straight after the death of her husband, saying it just wouldn’t be the same without him.
With their adorable sense of humour, warmth and easy banter, June and Leon Bernicoff soon became national treasures.
Gogglebox producers met Leon on at bridge club while looking for people to take part in the new show – and the Liverpudlian jumped at the chance.
June didn’t think they would be kept on the show, but the couple helped pull in millions of viewers every week.
The widow admitted she struggled struggled to enjoy the things she had loved with her beloved Leon beside her.
(Image: Collect Unknown)
During 57 years of marriage, the longest time the couple had ever been apart was just four days.
June said she found it hard to sit down and watch TV because it brought back so many unhappy memories.
“I don’t watch much TV these days, if I’m honest. I find it difficult,” confessed June.
“I’ve been reading a lot more, or listening to the radio, but I just feel restless whenever I sit down to watch it.
“I find myself getting up to make a lot of cups of tea and I can’t settle.”
June began making small, but significant, changes to the home she had shared with her late husband.
(Image: TV pic)
She switched the furniture round and moved the iconic armchairs the couple used to sit on when they appeared on Gogglebox.
Two months after Leon died, there was another special tribute show in his honour, which June admitted left her in floods of tears.
“I looked over to his chair and when I saw it, that was the first time I really, really cried after he died,” she told The Mirror.
Gogglebox proved a difficult watch for the former star of the show as it brought memories of Leon flooding back.
She added: “I sat here, where I always sat and we used to have a glass of wine while we watched it. I thought, ‘Oh God, I daren’t open a bottle of wine, I might drink the lot’.
“So, I went up to Tesco and bought one of those little bottles and poured that.”
(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Then, June made the difficult decision to leave Liverpool, the city she had called home for more than six decades, in October 2019.
In an unpublished letter, June shared her final thoughts about moving out of her family home with her fans.
She opened up about her “emotional” goodbye to Liverpool before she made the move to be closer to her family.
In a letter published by the Liverpool Echo, she wrote: “Our lovely home in Chalfont Road in Allerton – the living room of which was so familiar to millions of Gogglebox viewers – was, first and foremost, a family home.
“Before the children arrived, and after they left, it was mine and Leon’s home and I naturally thought it might be very emotional saying goodbye to it.
“But the strange thing was, once everything was moved and packed away, and myself and my daughters walked round it one last time, it was just a shell.
“I think the spirit of Chalfont Road went when Leon passed away – it was never quite the same.
She added: “A couple of weeks before he died, Leon said: “We don’t want to move, do we?” But I think he would have been 100% behind my move.
“Obviously, I had my doubts. One sale fell through and I did think “Am I right to move?” But I think a lot had left the house when Leon died. It had been OUR home.”
There was more tragedy to follow for the Bernicoff family just three years after Leon’s death.
Sadly, June passed awayon May 5 this year following a short illness.
Channel 4 and production company Studio Lambert issued a statement on behalf of her family, confirming the sad news.
(Image: Daily Record)
“As the first couple to be cast for Gogglebox back in 2013, June and her husband Leon were a huge part of the programme’s success,” it read.
“Their warmth, wit and contrasting personalities endeared them to the nation during the course of the first 10 series.
“Following Leon’s passing in December 2017, June wrote her first book, Leon And June: Our Story, which was a deeply moving and entertaining chronicle of their 60-year love affair.
“A remarkably independent, principled woman with a vivacious sense of humour and a huge passion for life, June will be dearly missed by the entire Gogglebox family, cast and crew.
“Despite her departure from the show in 2017, she remained a passionate supporter of the programme, watching it every week, and she was in regular contact with the production team.”
Everyone at Gogglebox gave their thoughts to June and Leon’s grieving family – Helen and Ian, Julie and Marc, and their beloved grandchildren Frances, Sam and Faye.
Scarlett Moffatt, who also appeared on Gogglebox, took to social media with a snap of June and Leon, writing: “You will be missed by all. Reunited with your true love.
“Sending love to your family and all that knew you and loved you.”
In the following episode of Gogglebox, which aired just hours after the news of June’s death broke, the show paid tribute to another one of it’s most-loved stars.
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/agony-behind-goggleboxs-heartbreaking-2017-23172821