Beloved Gogglebox star dead at 96 after health battle – as her last heartbreaking words
Beloved Gogglebox star Emmie Silbery has died, aged 96, after a battle with dementia.
Her granddaughter Isabelle Silbery announced the sad news on Instagram, sharing Emmie’s heartbreaking last words before she passed away.
‘Our Emmie waited for me to come home for one last snuggle. Her last words: ‘I’m ready to hang up now,’ she wrote.
‘She was 96 – an orphan, a nurse, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, the oldest woman on TV, a great-grandmother, an author and so much more. Thank you for loving her as much as we did and will forever. Have a big rest now – you deserve it. Xxxxx.’
Several Gogglebox stars shared their tributes on the post, with Lainey Grech writing: ‘Oh I’m so so sorry to hear. She was so beyond loved.’
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Beloved Gogglebox star Emmie Silbery has died, aged 96, after a battle with dementia
‘Sending all my love to you all. Rest in peace our beloved Emmie,’ Holly Dalton wrote.
Emmie left the popular show after 14 seasons in 2022 following her dementia diagnosis.
During the 2023 season’s premiere, the cast paid tribute to Emmie’s time on the popular program.
Emmie’s iconic red chair was empty while her daughter Kerry and Isabelle sat on their lounge.
‘We love you Emmie and we hope you continue to enjoy the show,’ said a voiceover, paying respect to the beloved cast member who starred on the show for 14 seasons.
Many viewers flocked to social media to share their tributes to Emmie at the time, with one tweeting: ‘We’ll miss you Emmie #GoggleboxAU.’
‘Sad that Emmie is no longer on @GoggleboxAU. I hope she is receiving good care in the retirement village. #GoggleboxAU,’ another said.
A third person wrote: ‘Emmie will be dearly missed #GoggleboxAU.’
Her granddaughter Isabelle Silbery announced the sad news on Instagram, sharing Emmie’s heartbreaking last words before she passed away
‘Our Emmie waited for me to come home for one last snuggle. Her last words ‘I’m ready to hang up now,’ she wrote
Isabelle and her mother opened up about Emmie’s diagnosis on The Project
Isabelle and her mother opened up about Emmie’s diagnosis on The Project.
Kerry said the ‘hardest part’ of Emmie’s diagnosis was having to tell her mother, who has been moved to an aged care facility, that she wouldn’t be appearing on the show anymore.
‘She said, ‘Why not?’ and we said, ‘You’ve got dementia,’ and she said, ‘I’m perfectly alright, there’s nothing wrong with me, I’m not ga-ga,” Kerry explained.
‘This is real life. Emmie is no longer able to do the show, and we wanted to be really transparent about that and not have her disappear off the couch,’ added Isabelle.
The pair insisted that they would be keeping the ornate red chair Emmie sat in on the show, in honour of her.
They also explained that they became aware of an issue when wise-cracking Emmie could no longer follow what was being said while they were filming an interview.
Isabelle then broke down in tears as she described the ‘long goodbye’ of losing someone to the neurological disorder.
‘Sometimes I really wish that she’d just go, because she’s not the same. It’s just really hard,’ she said.
Kerry said the ‘hardest part’ of Emmie’s diagnosis was having to tell her mother, who has been moved to an aged care facility, that she wouldn’t be appearing on Gogglebox anymore. Emmie is pictured
Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a range of progressive neurological disorders that impact memory, thinking and behaviour.
There are many types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
There is no cure for dementia, although medical intervention can slow its progression.
The Silbery family appeared on the four-time Logie Award-winning series from 2016 to 2024, and during that time shared many personal stories.
Foxtel swung the axe on the popular series last year after an epic 19 seasons..
The long-running reality TV series, which sees ordinary Australians comment on the week in television, was adapted from a UK format and has been adored by fans since launching in 2015.
The multi-Logie award-winning show was a co-production between Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel and Network Ten, airing on Foxtel first and free-to-air the following day.