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Gogglebox’s June shares poignant update on how she’s coping since Leon’s death

He passed away just before Christmas

Gogglebox’s June Bernicoff has told fans she has good days and bad days following the death of beloved husband Leon.

Retired teacher Leon, 83, passed away just before Christmas following a short illness.

The couple shared a Twitter account which June has now taken over.

Read more: Gogglebox pays touching tribute to Leon as show triumphs at NTAs

And she provided a poignant update on life after Leon this week, when one fan contacted her to ask how she has been doing.

June replied: “Doing okay, thanks. Some days better than others but that goes for us all doesn’t it?”

She added to another follower: “One day at a time.”

The Liverpool-based television favourite also told fans she’d been watching First Dates and, perhaps thinking about her own beautiful love story with Leon, tweeted: “Want them all to find happiness.”

June also opened up about Everton fan Leon’s funeral service, telling one follower that some of his Liverpool-loving colleagues had worn blue to the occasion.

“He was a indeed a blue – a bitter blue but even some of his red ex-colleagues wore blue at his funeral!” she wrote in a tweet.

Other memories shared by June in the last week include telling fans that Leon loved to dance around the house, made a great cup of tea and was always a morning person.

“Life was never boring with him but great fun!!” she said.

“He was one in a million and he’s very much missed and not only by me,” she added.

Leon and wife June joined the Channel 4 hit when it launched in 2013, and quickly became national treasures.

He was renowned for his no-nonsense opinion on celebrities and, most entertainingly, politicians – traits respected by many fans who flooded Twitter with their condolences.

The Bernicoffs were married for over 60 years.

Leon was 20 when he first met June, then 18, at a teacher training college dance; he has said it was love at first sight.

Last night, Gogglebox won the Best Factual Entertainment Programme at the National Television Awards.

And accepting the award, sisters Ellie and Izzi Warner paid tribute to Leon.

“This is absolutely amazing and it’s a fabulous opportunity to be here and we’d just like to say thank you to the NTAs for having us, and a massive thank you to everybody who has voted,” they said.

Read more: Paul O’Grady fans call for him to be knighted after NTAs win

“It’s the fourth year in a row that we’ve won so it’s a real privilege.

“Everybody puts so much hard work into it and we just want to say thank you and this is on behalf of everybody.

“We’d like to dedicate this award to Leon and June.”


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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