Former Gogglebox star Josh Tapper’s career has taken a surprising turn in recent years, leading him to a victory in the 2026 local elections.
The ex-sofa critic, now 28, rose to fame on the Channel 4 show in 2013 alongside his sister, Amy, and their parents, with whom he made the nation laugh with their comments and bickering.
Josh was just 15 at the time, and Gogglebox was in its first series, going on to become a staple of British television and propel the likes of Scarlett Moffatt to stardom.
But while Scarlett has hosted on Saturday Night Takeaway and appeared in I’m A Celebrity, Josh has taken a different avenue – politics.
As a result, he’s now been elected as a Labour Councillor.
Josh bowed out of Gogglebox in 2017 after securing an apprenticeship in the civil service. As per his website, he also volunteered at cancer care charities and food banks and was a homeless charity trustee.
Fast forward a few years, and he’s been successful in his bid for local government, winning a seat for the Underhill ward in the London Borough of Barnet.
He received 1,128 votes, winning his seat alongside fellow Labour candidate Zahra Beg.
Taking to Instagram after the outcome was confirmed, Amy shared a smiley snap of her brother, writing: ‘My brother is officially a Councillor! So so proud.’
Josh has had a long road to his election victory, having missed out on a seat in the Edgwarebury ward in 2022 by 43 votes.
Then, in 2024, he stood as a Labour candidate for Hertsmere in the general election but came second in the vote.
When he first threw his hat in the ring to become an MP, Josh insisted that being young and ‘inexperienced’ would not hold him back.
‘From reversing Tory neglect on our green spaces to pioneering institutional change of mental health support, I’ve always shown that no matter how big the challenge, I’ll always take it on and get the job done,’ he declared, urging people to judge him on his ‘record’ rather than his age.
While he previously worked for ex-Tory Prime Minister Theresa May as a campaign assistant, he said the Conservatives had since ‘driven our country into the ground’ and needed ‘a transformative Labour government’.
Josh has also expressed his commitment to approaching politics differently, telling voters that ‘we can have something fundamentally better’.
During a past campaign, he vowed to ‘stand up for every constituent’, irrespective of their voting history.
He went on to berate the Tory party’s ‘chaos’, which has left families ‘worse off’ and more ‘unsafe’.
‘As your MP, I’ll focus on improving our economy so that families are better off,’ he promised.
‘I also want to see more police on the streets and deal with crime like antisocial behaviour and burglaries.
‘Labour will get the NHS back on its feet, switch on Great British Energy, take back our streets and break down the barriers to opportunity.’
When he decided to leave Gogglebox, the team behind the programme was fully supportive.
‘Channel 4 will, of course, keep the door open for him, but it’s a really exciting opportunity for him,’ a source said as he began carving out his career.
Josh has firmly moved on now, though, having told The Mirror in 2018: ‘The option to go back is always there, but I want to move away from that, and the focus is now very much on my job.
‘Of course, I miss it and the sitting on the couch watching TV. But I am more focused on my future… It’s a more secure path.’
The child star also married his partner of nine years in 2025.
Josh added that he was inspired to go into politics by Rob Lowe in The West Wing, having watched him play Deputy White House Communications Director Sam Seaborn.
When he quit Gogglebox, so did his family, with Amy appearing on Celebs Go Dating the following year.
The North Londoners became less available to film due to work and university getting in the way of the schedule.
In a 2023 interview with The Mirror, mum Nikki explained: ‘Our circumstances changed. It was a shame, but it just wasn’t possible for us to film the show anymore.
‘The best thing about doing Gogglebox, for all of us, is that we got to spend so much time together as a family, which we would never ever have otherwise.
‘Who sits for that amount of time with their teenage kids on a Friday or Saturday night?
‘I do miss it, especially in times like this, where we’re all together.’
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