Gogglebox stars slammed by fans for accusing Joe Wicks of ‘cashing in’ on the coronavirus pandemic

Gogglebox stars Pete and Sophie Sandiford have been slammed by viewers for mocking The Body Coach star Joe Wicks.

On the latest episode of the Channel 4 show, the brother and sister duo hit out at the fitness enthusiast, accusing him of ‘cashing in big time’ on the coronavirus pandemic amid his hugely popular work out routines on YouTube.

However, fans didn’t take too kindly to the pair’s and their fellow Gogglebox stars’ comments, with many saying they should be ashamed of their comments – especially as Joe revealed plans to donate £80k of his profits to the NHS.  

The furore kicked off as the Googlebox cast watched a transmission of The Andrew Marr Show of which Joe, 33, appeared on.

However, when Joe was asked on the journey he had been on, the siblings couldn’t help but make a snide remark, in which they claimed the star was ‘capitalising on a pandemic’.

In reference to Joe’s ‘journey’, Sophie quipped: ‘Just a webcam. YouTube channel.’

To which her brother replied: ‘And capitalising on a pandemic.’

The Blackpool native then added: ‘He is cashing in big style. If there’s a whiff of a pound now he is there.’

The pair when on to make several other remarks about Joe, as did Jenny and Lee and Stephen.

But while the Sophie and Pete’s sarcastic digs usually go down well with fans, this time they faced backlash due to the fact that Joe plans to donate the cash he’s made from his videos. 

Taking to Twitter, viewers made their feelings clear, with one writing: ‘#Gogglebox slagging Joe wicks off. Shame on you. What have you coach potatos done recently?’

While another remarked: ‘Regardless of what you think of Joe Wicks, he’s donating 100% of his profits from from his YouTube PE project to the NHS. Not just sitting on a sofa moaning.’

‘Nah I’m not cool with peeps making fun of Joe Wicks. He’s a lovely bloke doing something great for the kids, so let’s drop the put downs’ ranted a third.

‘Makers of #Gogglebox need to have a word with the brother/Sister how disrespectful were they about @JoeWicks,The guy has shown nothing but kindness thru this difficult time an their sitting there insulting him #disrespectful’ fumed a fourth.

A fifth watcher tweeted: ‘I love #Gogglebox normally but not tonight. No need to be laying into Joe Wicks and Jamie Oliver who are clearly doing their best to help others in the current situation. Shame on @Channel4.’

With another agreeing: ‘Not liking #Gogglebox tonight – really rude comments about Joe Wicks being shown. Shame on you. He’s helping out during difficult times.’

Joe has been sharing YouTube exercise videos during lockdown in a bid to help the nation feel more upbeat and stay healthy, and has earned the moniker of ‘the nation’s P.E teacher’.

And earlier this week, Joe revealed that he has earned more than £80k in revenue from the videos in the last week alone and he’ll be donating it all to the NHS.

He told Good Morning Britain on Wednesday: ‘I’ve done UK tours, schools. I’ve done YouTube live workouts, I thought why not do it again? I was supposed to be on another tour. 

‘We’ve had 22 million views, it’s been unbelievable. I’ve reached millions of families and kids.’

Talking about donating the money from ad revenue to the NHS, he said: ‘I saw the views and its unprecedented. YouTube is a massive part of my business, I saw the numbers [ad revenue] and was blown away. That is going to the NHS.

‘In the past week alone, the ad is almost at £80k ($100,000 US dollars). Every penny, all of that money is going to the NHS. The more we do it, the more we raise, I’m so proud of that.’