Gogglebox star Baasit Siddiqui has been flooded with support as he issued a proud update. The armchair critic has cast his eye on the week’s best TV since the very first season in 2013.
He has become a fan favourite on the show alongside his dad, Sid, and brothers, Raza and Umar. The reality TV star is set to welcome viewers into their home once again for Friday’s episode, which gets underway at 9pm on Channel 4.
He regularly shares updates from his life away from the screen, where he works as a teacher. The reality star explained his work in this sector has given him awareness of the strong stigmas associated with mental health.
This has inspired him to run the London Marathon this year with his wife, Melissa, to raise money for Mind Charity. He took to Instagram and said he is honoured to take on the challenge.
He said: “I’ve had the privilege of experiencing running the @londonmarathon before but to have the opportunity to share this experience with my wife is very special!
“I know first hand that @melissasiddiqui is completely out of her comfort zone – having only started her running journey in January 2024. As you can see from her story on our posts, running for @mindcharity is very close to her and her families heart, so I’m honoured to be supporting her and Mind in raising money and awareness
“Although some people reading my story will know me from television, my day job for the past fifteen years has been in education. For over ten years I worked as a full time teacher and for the last five years I’ve worked across education with teachers, children and families.
He added: “One thing that continues to be highlighted in all my work is the growing mental health crisis. The work Mind does to raise awareness and smash mental health stigmas has never been more important and I know how prevalent the crisis of mental health challenges is across the education landscape.”Whether it’s teacher workload, social media challenges in children or parents mental health struggles due to the cost of living crisis – it’s clear to see people need help more than ever! That is why I’m proud to be running the 2025 London Marathon with my wife to raise money for such an amazing cause”You can find our donation in our bios. We are so grateful to everyone who has already donated and for sharing our link. See you on the other side.”
Baasit and Raza completed the challenge last year and fans took to the comments to praise the reality TV star for his decision to undertake the marathon again.
Dawn said: “Good luck you guys .. hope you smash it and raise lots of money for a great cause” Sue added: “Brilliant guys ,will be supporting you all the way.”