Gogglebox star Seb to stand in Worcester council election

Seb James, who appeared on the hit show with mum Elaine, is hoping for a place on Worcester City Council when voters go to the polls on May 2.

Fans have been left wondering why the pair are no longer on the show.

However, it has now revealed that he’s one of two Conservative candidates standing in the St Clement ward hoping to follow in the footsteps of party stalwart Simon Geraghty, who is stepping down from the city council.

Elaine and Seb on Gogglebox (Image: Gogglebox/Channel 4)

“Simon did an amazing job - they are going to be huge shoes to fill,” said Mr James. “Talking to people on the doorstep, they all say how positive Simon has been.

“So it’s not the easiest start to a political career, trying to take over from one of the greats.”

Mr James fell in love with Worcester after moving to the city to study at university - and has been here ever since.

“I grew up in Cheltenham and have always been interested in politics,” he said. “I studied at the St John’s campus and have lived in St Clement’s since I moved to Worcester, so when the opportunity came through the party, it was a chance to give back to an area that I’ve fallen in love with.

“In St Clement’s we have a lack of bins and waste facilities, a lot of people have spoken to me about a need for more dog waste bins.

“We have Oldbury Park, which is a great green space but isn’t utilised enough - we need to make more of this amazing asset.

“I also want to start bridging the gap between students and residents - maybe a younger voice on the council will help with that.”

Mr James said the producers of Gogglebox approached him about a year ago to appear on the show with mum Elaine.

“I think they wanted a different dynamic, a mother and son, and a different perspective with my politics,” he said.

“It was a great experience and I only stepped down to focus on the political side of things.

“It’s very hard to find the time to spend quality time with family members you don’t live with so it was great to share some laughs and tears with mum.”

In his day job, Mr James works as a constituency support for Dudley’s Conservative MP Marco Longhi.