Peggy Mitchell’s suicide was AXED from Gogglebox after families broke down in tears
The emotional storyline was too much for audiences so Channel 4 cut the scenes from the popular TV fly-on-the-wall show
PRODUCERS of the popular Channel 4 TV show Gogglebox cut Peggy Mitchell's suicide scenes from the show after families were left traumatised.
Millions of viewers tuned into watch the uncomfortable exit of the nation's favourite landlady as she bid goodbye to years of traumatic drama in Albert Square.
But the storyline involving Peggy's overdose after learning she had terminal cancer was too much for some of the families.
In the show Peggy, played by Barbara Windsor, had an emotional discussion with her son Grant, in which he begged his mother not to take her own life.
But the intervention was futile and the story played out.
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Now Gogglebox cast members have revealed the whole concept was too much for them.
And that it hit close to home.
Foster carer Lynne McGarry who is a regular on the show with her husband Pete and her son George Gilbey has revealed the family's reaction to the harrowing scenes was not shown to audiences.
Lynne told the Daily Star: “Pete broke down because he thought of how him and his brother felt when they lost their mum.
“The producers said it was too sad to show.
"He said to me, ‘When that happens you don’t want to accept it. You want to hold on for as long as you can. You don’t want them to go.
“All three of us were sitting there and one by one we broke down.”
Each of the families who signed up to appear on Gogglebox watch a mandated amount of television every week and their reactions to the show are recorded and aired on television.
But an insider said the reaction to Peggy's suicide was deemed to be too much.
The source said: "But the reactions to Peggy committing suicide were really raw.
“It felt like their responses were too personal to be aired so the decision was made to cut them from the edit.”
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