Gogglebox star grilled on 'missing' accent as they're told 'lots of people are asking'

Gogglebox's Mary Killen was grilled about her 'missing' Irish accent on Friday's episode.

During the latest episode, Mary and husband Giles Wood settled down for a night of television to which the latter decided to grill his wife. Giles asked: "What's happened to your Irish accent, Mary, a lot of people are asking that?"

To which a confused Mary responded: "Why? Because it's come back?" with Giles clarifying: "No, it's gone! When you first came to London, did people tease you about your accent?"

This prompted Mary to open up as she admitted: "Yeah", before adding: "I could make no conversation or progress!" Giles was left saddened to hear this as he replied: "That's really annoying! Would that be a hate crime now?" to which Mary remarked: "It would be!"

It comes as Mary spoke about the "dismal ending" of her childhood home, with her suggesting that it was targeted by "vandals" and later bulldozed.

The columnist - who has appeared on the show with her husband Giles since 2015 - reflected on her life for their book Country Life. It was originally published last year but was recently re-released in paperback.

One story in the book - in which the couple "share their hard-earned lessons" about life in the countryside - that has attracted attention recently relates to Mary's upbringing in . She's said to have grown up in Larne before moving on her own to when she was 18.

According to , Mary's childhood home was located next to a church and was where her father, who was a GP, worked. It reports that she wrote that it was targeted by "vandals" and ended up being bulldozed some years ago.

Mary commented in the book: "Vandals broke in and tried to set fire to it on more than one occasion. They broke a stained-glass window on the landing just out of malice, not because they needed to come through that window."

The author added: "The church said they had no option but to bulldoze the lovely property." Mary further stated in one of the book's chapters: "It was a dismal ending for a house that had been of such service to both medical and social life - the centre of so many parties given by my parents."

Mary is said to have relocated from Northern Ireland to England when she was 18. She's understood to have lived in London for a while before moving to the countryside, with her now residing in a cottage in Wiltshire with Giles.

Gogglebox airs on Friday nights on Channel 4 at 9pm and is available on demand.