Celebrity Gogglebox fans are thrilled after ‘TV legends’ reunite after 11 years

Actors Sue Johnson, 71, and Ricky Tomlinson, 83, who appeared on The Royle Family returned to TV screens on Friday night.

The legendary duo joined forces for the fifth series of Celebrity Gogglebox and viewers were delighted at the pairing, with some calling it the best booking ever.

The two are best known for their roles as bickering couple Jim and Barbara in the BBC comedy, which acted as inspiration for the Channel 4 show.

Taking to Twitter, one Celebrity Gogglebox viewer raved that the pair were ‘pure joy from start to finish’.

Another added: ‘This is EVERYTHING’ followed by heart emoji.

Laugh a minute: Ricky had fans in stitches when he told of a time he was mistaken for Hollywood actor George Clooney while wearing a Covid mask

A third wrote: ‘Our Jim and Barbara reunited! Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston are TV legends.’

And a fourth declared Ricky Tomlinson a national treasure adding that he’s an ‘absolute hoot’.

Fans saw Sue and Ricky back together discussing the TV, which is what they were famed for on the sitcom.

They opened the heart-warming series with a hilarious story that had viewers in stitches from the start.

Ricky told of a time when he was misidentified as Hollywood actor George Clooney while wearing a Covid mask, before going on to chat about the week’s TV.

The long-standing friends and actors gave their opinions on This Morning and King Charles’ televised Trooping The Colour, along with horror movie M3GAN.

Ricky also had Sue and viewers at home laughing out loud when he recalled the time he once almost asked A-list actor Robert De Niro if ‘he was in showbiz’.

Other stars appearing on this series of Celebrity Gogglebox include Davina McCall and her boyfriend Michael Douglas.

Close friends: Fans were delighted to see ‘Jim and Barbara’ reunite a whole 11 years since they appeared on the telly together

Funny duo: The reaction from viewers was really positive with some people calling out for Ricky and Sue to be crowned King and Queen

Living legends: The pair are best known for their roles as the bickering couple Jim and Barbara in BBC comedy, The Royle Family which acted as inspiration for Gogglebox

Comedian Katherine Ryan and her husband Bobby are also joining the show, as well as BBC star Chris Packham with his step-daughter Megan.

A slew of other familiar faces are also returning for the new series, including Zoe Ball, Rylan Clark, Denise Van Outen, Mo Gilligan, Shaun Ryder and Nick Grimshaw.

Sue and Ricky appeared in The Royle Family for three series and a slew of specials from 1998 until 2012, alongside former Gogglebox narrator Caroline Aherne, who played their daughter Denise.

Craig Cash, who took over as the narrator of Gogglebox following Caroline Aherne’s death in 2016 played Dave Best in the hit sitcom.