Gogglebox star Sandra is back on benefits and regrets leaving the show

The 61-year-old from Brixton appeared on the hit Friday night show alongside her ‘bestie’ Sandi Bogle, 58, starting from series one in 2013 until Bogle quit after eight series in 2016.

Bogle left the show to pursue other opportunities, including a stint on Celebrity Big Brother.

Meanwhile, Martin was able to find a replacement to join her on the sofa to review the week’s biggest TV moments, her daughter Chanchez Martin.

However, the amateur TV critic confirmed her own departure in 2017 during an interview on This Morning in which she said she’d miss the show but ‘decided at that time I wanted to move on to other things’.

Speaking ahead of the show’s 10^th anniversary, Martin has expressed her regret about cutting her Gogglebox journey short.

“I could’ve stayed, they offered me real money, but s**t happens,” she told The Sun.

Although she regrets leaving the Gogglebox fam, she is happy to have a platform she can use to raise money for charity and help the homeless.

She said Bogle’s departure was ‘hard’ and she ‘had a panic attack, thinking I was going to go back on benefits’.

Fans will be pleased to know that Martin and Bogle are still pals.

“We’re besties. We’ve been through ups, downs, thick and thin, the worst, the wears, the tears, the bumps, the laughs,” Martin said.

“That’s friendship. You can’t beat that, no matter what.”

The 10th anniversary special is set to air tonight on Channel 4 and will look back at the most hilarious and iconic moments from the show over the last decade.

Gogglebox initially took the TV world by storm when it debuted in March 2013 and has since aired a whopping 21 consecutive series.

Some of the familiar faces viewers can expect to see in the bumper episode includes Martin and Bogle and hoteliers Steph and Dom Parker.

Currently there are only two households who appeared in the first ever episode who are still on our screens today.

Stephen Webb, who shared the sofa with a number of companions but most recently with his husband Daniel Lustig, was in the first episode. The Siddiqui family are also Gogglebox stalwarts.

The 90-minute Gogglebox 10th anniversary special airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.