‘Gogglebox legend’s old pervert remark could harm his career – he needs a change’-Asyia Iftikhar-Entertainment – Metro

Stephen Webb has had a difficult start to his fresh reality career (Picture: E4)

Gogglebox star Stephen Webb has faced a disastrous debut on Celebs Go Dating after a set of uncomfortable age-gap dates – but was this the right move for the reality star.

The 53-year-old saw huge success during his 10-year stint on Channel 4’s Gogglebox but after divorcing his partner of 11 years, Daniel Lustig, and exiting the series – Celebs Go Dating is showing a never-seen-before side to the TV personality.

The show is a far cry from what he is used to, switching television boxes out for the dating arena, and it has proved a bumpy start for Stephen after fans flagged concerns over his decision to date considerably younger men: driving instructor Dean, 31, and footballer Ben, 22.

During a date debrief, Dean said he felt ‘humiliated’ after Stephen asked him about his w**king habits. Stephen’s reaction compounded the mess as he admitted he ‘comes across like an old pervert’.

‘It’s hard. It’s really hard. I’m a hot mess. My head’s all over the place. I feel like my whole personality has been destroyed,’ he added while he cried. He was even reprimanded by the dating experts.

Unfortunately, his behaviour has left a sour aftertaste, with people calling him ‘defensive and rude’.

PR Expert Lynn has shared her advice for the remainder of Stephen’s time on the show (Picture: Channel 4/Celebs Go Dating

Stephen made a name for himself after appearing on Gogglebox from 2013 to 2023 (Picture: Channel 4)

But given his transformed life over the past year, PR brand and culture expert Lynn Carratt told Metro.co.uk it wasn’t the ‘right time’ for Stephen to join the E4 dating show.

‘It’s [been] a very short space of time after his divorce. It’s only been about seven months, and I think he is out of the groove of dating.’

She added: ‘The dating arena’s changed a lot, he maybe should have given himself more time to recover from his marriage breakup before he went to find love on national television.’

As Lynn explained, this is entirely new territory for Stephen compared to the ‘reserved’ nature of Gogglebox and ‘you’re also showing your vulnerability which he has never done on TV before.’

Celebs Go Dating sexpert Dr Tara has defended Stephen’s choice to go for notably younger men, saying that age-gap relationships are becoming ‘more common and more accepted’.

‘And when we say younger, it’s legal age, right? It’s not like super teenagers. Everything is always done consensually, and you know, of course, with enthusiasm,’ she added to the Sun.

Stephen has only recently left his marriage and entered a drastically different dating world (Picture: Shutterstock)

Although fellow expert Paul Brunson told a slightly different story, saying that Stephen was ‘fixated on matching with someone much younger than him’.

He added to the publication that this behaviour is typical of someone who has ‘low self-esteem’ or ‘they desire to be in a relationship they control’.

The way he has conducted himself on air could leave questions over the future of his career.

Lynn continued: ‘If you want to step out of your comfort zone and put yourself in a different environment to further your career, he hasn’t gone about it in the right way.

‘Obviously calling yourself an old pervert is not a great PR strategy so I think it will harm his career and his appeal to certain viewers and to certain brands as well. They won’t want to work with him,’ Lynn explained.

‘There’s certain things nowadays that you’re not allowed to say and I think he’s been irresponsible in the way that he’s spoken about his younger dates. Surely no one wants to come across in the public eye as an old pervert.’

He used to be married to Daniel Lustig (Picture: Channel 4)

Reflecting on how Stephen can make amends, and salvage his time on the show, she urged Stephen to apologise for his comments, ‘have a think about how he wants to present himself in the public eye’ and ‘take steps to showcase that’.

In particular, he needs to ‘improve the way he comes across to potential dates.’

‘He’s not dated for a long time. He’s probably nervous when he goes on these dates. Sometimes when you’re nervous, you say things that you didn’t mean to say.

‘He’s in a vulnerable position, because he’s only just come out of a marriage, and he’s probably still finding his feet in the dating world. He needs to win back likability from the public,’ Lynn continued.

There is a sense that Stephen doesn’t realise how he is ‘coming across to people’ and he needs to trust in the dating experts to guide him on the right path and ‘tell him where he’s going wrong’.

He needs to heed the advice of the dating experts and apologise for his remarks, says Lynn (Picture: E4)

‘I think if he can rehabilitate himself on the show, people will be interested in his journey,’ Lynn added, pointing out that he still has a few weeks left to show a ‘marked improvement’.

But she warned that, with people already calling for him to be ‘axed’ from the show, ‘if he doesn’t change his behavior to potential dates’, he could hurt more than just his romance prospects.

It’s not totally implausible for Gogglebox stars to break into the wider reality pool, as proven by Scarlett Moffat. So Stephen has a model he can follow.

‘Gogglebox stars have gone onto success,’ Lynn said. Scarlett, 33, has since appeared on shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and First Dates.

‘What it comes down to is having the right people behind you and the right PR advice  

‘If they’ve got a certain charisma, if they’ve got the charm and they’ve got the personality and they know they and you know they’ve got an affinity with the public, then you know, why not branch out?’ Lynn concluded.

The current cast of season 13 of Celebs Go Dating also includes Married At First Sight star Ella Morgan, Coronation Street star Helen Flannagan, Love Island’s Chris Taylor, singer Jameila, and internet personality Tristan Phipps.

And for those concerned about the impact of Stephen’s behaviour on his dates, a Celebs Go Dating spokesperson has told Metro.co.uk: ‘Any concern regarding behaviour is investigated and dealt with accordingly in line with our robust protocols.

‘The welfare of everyone involved and working on our show is always of primary importance. Stephen’s conduct during his date with Dean is firmly dealt with by the agents on Monday night’s show, during which Dean also has an opportunity to address Stephen directly.’

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Stephen Webb’s management and Channel 4 for comment.

Celebs Go Dating airs Monday to Thursday at 9pm on E4.

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