One of the most beloved Gogglebox Australia stars, Emmie Silbery, has been forced to leave the show due to a dementia diagnosis that has also seen her move into an aged care home.
94-year-old Emmie has been a staple of Gogglebox since season three began in 2016, and was always seen on screen alongside her daughter Kerry and granddaughter Izzy.
But Emmie’s worsening condition means it was no longer possible for her to take part due to her declining condition.
Kerry said telling her mum she had to leave the show was one of the most difficult conversations.
“I noticed she was forgetting to take her medication and so I had to confront mum,” Kerry told The Project.
“Members of my family were messaging me saying ‘why are you talking all the time, you haven’t given mum a chance to speak’ and it was because she actually couldn’t, she wasn’t following what was going on.
“The hardest part was actually telling her she wasn’t going to be on Gogglebox anymore.
“She said ‘why not?’ and we said because you’ve got dementia and she said ‘I’m perfectly alright, there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m not ga-ga’.”
Izzy, who has seen her grandmother’s condition change dramatically, said they wanted to be upfront and honest with the public about what has happened.
‘This is real life. Emmie is no longer able to do the show, and we wanted to be really transparent about that and not have her disappear off the couch,” Izzy told the Project.
“We ring up every morning [and ask] how is she, did she have a good night.
“Sometimes I just wish that she would go, she’s not the same. It’s just really hard.”
Despite the changes, Izzy wants Gogglebox fans to remember Emmie at her wise-cracking best.
“Who they saw on Gogglebox, that’s her. Her sex talk, her ogling over hot men,” said Izzy.
Kerry said her mother should also be recognised as a revolutionary, as the oldest woman on Australian television.
“Where, anywhere in the media, do you see anybody of her age group,” she said.
Kerry and Izzy will continue to take part in the show and have said that Emmie’s famous red chair – “the Queen’s chair” – will remain in her honour.
Emmie’s departure follows the tragic loss of Di Kershaw in 2022, who passed away at 76 following her battle with throat cancer. Di and her husband Mick had been on the show since season one.
