We Need To Talk – The World According To Us is the title of a new book written by Stephen Webb and Chris Steed.
Stephen and Chris shot to fame from their sofa in Brighton and in the space of just three and a half years, have fast become one of the nation’s much loved duos on Channel 4’s Gogglebox TV show.
The series, narrated by Craig Cash and also the late Caroline Aherne, won a BAFTA award in 2014 and a National Television Award in 2015 and 2016.
I invited Stephen and Chris to one of their favourite haunts – and somewhere I often DJ at myself – Rupert Street in Soho, in London’s glittering West End.
Comfortably nestled in a cosy corner of this popular gay bar, I set up my film cameras and dusted off my microphones for a candid and hilarious chat with the TV pair about their lives, which have been brilliantly documented in their first official hardback.
“The nice thing about writing the book was that I thought I knew quite a lot about Stephen, so doing the book made us find out a little bit more,” says Chris.
Gogglebox is obviously a TV show that Stephen and Chris enjoy filming, and the showbiz parties and adoring fans are an added bonus.
“When we first started, we got quite excited and went out and bought nice shirts, jeans and shoes,” says Stephen.
“But now, we’ve definitely settled into it more. I’ve got a bag of clothes that I take to Chris’s to film. When we’re not doing a series it’s still in the boot of my car. I never wash it!”
With its tourist appeal and heady gay scene, you would think that living in Brighton would be the ideal location for Stephen and Chris to reap the rewards of fame, but surprisingly it’s not so obvious.
“Brightonians couldn’t care less,” says Stephen.
“They see us in Churchill Square buying our undies.”
“I do love the fame, though. If you’re an older gay man, you might start to become invisible. You sometimes go to a gay bar and it’s full of twenty year olds. But all of this has given us a little boost!”
Those familiar with Stephen and Chris’s TV appearances will already appreciate their filthy language as well as their humour, but their new book doesn’t shy away from their struggles during childhood and adolescence.
“One of my childhood bullies once turned round to my sister and said he admired me growing up when he actually made my life hell,” says Chris.
“He obviously saw something in me that he was jealous of.”
● We Need To Talk – The World According To Us is available now at all good book stores