CHANNEL 4 will be scouring Scotland looking for a new family to add to its popular Gogglebox show, it has been announced.
The news comes after MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster pressured the broadcaster to include Scots in the show.
The hit Channel 4 show hasn’t featured a Scottish family since the Manuels, who last appeared five years ago.
Asked about the omission during a Scottish Affair Committee hearing in September, Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon said that there was “continued pressure” due to the number of complaints about the lack of representation the channel received.
Now, the channel has announced plans for “a separate budget for a dedicated casting team” to find Scots for the show.
READ MORE: Channel 4's Gogglebox is looking for new cast members - how to apply
It is hoped that at least one Scottish family will be appearing on the programme from the New Year.
The news was welcomed by SNP MP Pete Wishart, who also chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Wishart said: “Channel 4 has impressive credentials for supporting independent producers and offering opportunities for young people wishing to explore the sector. We are bursting at the seams with talent in Scotland, and I am pleased to hear Channel 4’s efforts to harness this potential.
“A theme which came up in our evidence session was the lack of a Scottish family on Gogglebox. It is clear some have approached the channel with similar concern, often offering themselves as an option.
“I am therefore pleased to see a dedicated team tasked with this and look forward to seeing the successful family on our screens in the new series!”
Wishart’s colleague on the committee, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, previously appeared to offer himself as a potential candidate.
At the September committee hearing, Ross, who has two young children with his wife Krystle, said he was a “big fan” of the show and that his family watched it weekly. He added: “In fact we could be … we could be part of it.”
His fellow committee members could be heard laughing at the suggestion, before the Scots Tory said it perhaps was not a “viable option”.
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