Gogglebox stars pay tribute to Leon Bernicoff at National Television Awards

Bernicoff died in hospital after a short illness at the age of 83

Gogglebox stars have paid tribute to Leon Bernicoff who passed away over Christmas at the National Television Awards.

Ellie & Izzi, sisters who star on the popular Channel 4 show, accepted the award on behalf of the programme which won Best Factual Entertainment programme for the fourth consecutive year.

The siblings dedicated the award to the veteran star who died in hospital after a short illness at the age of 83 two days before Christmas Day.

Dr Foster star Suranne Jones said "God bless you Leon" as she announced Gogglebox were the winners.

After the pair expressed gratitude for the award, Ellie said: "We would like to dedicate this to Leon and June."

Mr Bernicoff, a retired teacher and committed Everton fan, and his wife were one of the first couples to join the show's cast when it launched in 2013. The pair met in 1955 with the couple marrying five years later.

Bernicoff had been eagerly anticipating spending Christmas with his wife and co-star June the night before he died in hospital.

The final post from the couple’s Twitter account wished fans "goodnight" just hours before he passed away.

“Goodnight Folks! Christmas is almost here, let's all try and remember it's the Season on Goodwill however fraught we get!!,” it read.

Gogglebox is a popular reality show which has aired on channel 4 since 2013 and simply features people sitting in their living rooms watching and responding to TV programmes.

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The Bafta-winning show, which has had ten series, has been adopted by television networks worldwide including America, Australia, Belgium and Norway.