Gogglebox star Marcus explains why his famous son never appeared on the show

Marcus Luther quickly became a fan favourite when he first appeared on Gogglebox back in 2018.

For five years, he starred alongside wife Mica Ven watching TV and entertaining the nation while splayed across their sofa.

However, in 2022, the couple sadly announced that it was 'time to put down the remote and see what else God has in store for us', calling time on their stint on the Channel 4 show.

Fans were very sorry to see them leave, but did you know Marcus has a rather famous son who almost appeared alongside him on the sofa?

Marcus' oldest son, boxer Shiloh Defreitas, almost made it onto Gogglebox with his dad but it ultimately wasn't meant to be.

Shiloh is Marcus' son from a previous relationship, while Mica has daughters Sachelle and Shuggy, and together the couple have son Yash.

Marcus told LADbible that they 'had him in there for one' preamble of the show which is 'basically just talking about normal life'.

"He sat on the sofa with us and he did that with us, but it wasn't a success so we left him to it, sent him back to the boxing gym instead," Marcus explained.

Marcus Luther and wife Mica appeared on Googlebox between 2018 and 2022 (Channel 4)

As much as you or I, dear reader, might think we'd love to spend our time watching telly while being on telly it's not for everyone and it doesn't seem to have hampered Shiloh much.

Nicknamed 'Sugar Shy', he's a boxer who won gold for Team England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017 and has since enjoyed great success after going professional.

It was dad Marcus who first got him into the sport, though the Gogglebox star admitted that he's finding it a little more difficult in the ring himself lately.

"I do a lot of sparring pretty much with the young people, but it's more of me getting battered now, I'm too slow," Marcus told LADbible of his more recent forays into the ring.

"I can see what's happening. And I can't move out of the way quickly enough anymore for some b****y reason, might have something to do with age."

His son boxer Shiloh Defreitas almost appeared on the Channel 4 show with his dad (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Marcus said that Shiloh's success in the ring was part of his inspiration for taking part in Channel 4's Banged Up last year.

The show saw Marcus, alongside EastEnders star Sid Owen, former Tory MP Neil Parish, actor and comedian Tom Rosenthal, singer HRVY, and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens go into decommissioned prison HMP Shrewsbury alongside former convicts to experience what life is like behind bars.

"I run a boxing club and I lose a lot of my young people to crime," Marcus told LADbible of his reasons for going on the show.

"They all end up going back and I thought to myself 'if the system is designed for you to not go back to prison what's happening.'

Marcus said his son's success was part of the reason he signed up for Channel 4's Banged Up last year (Channel 4)

"That was one of my reasons for going in, to actually see what prison was like. I wanted to see if it was a walk in the park, it actually wasn't a walk in the park.

"It was actually quite a bit of a nightmare. I wouldn't want to go back to prison again."

Unfortunately, being behind bars for the show meant that Marcus missed out on watching his younger son Yash winning in the ring.

He said: "My son was boxing in the Three Nations at the same time I went to prison, I missed his fight and that was so sad because I've never missed any, I've been with them since they were little.

"I wasn't able to be there for it, that's the reality of prison, you miss everything that's on the outside, anything that means something to you."

Topics: TV and Film, Channel 4, Gogglebox, Celebrity, Sport, Boxing

Bec Oakes