Gogglebox star Sue Sheehan broke her silence on her Bell’s palsy diagnosis during the Channel 4 show on Friday night.

Sue and her husband Steve, who are based in South London, appeared on the hit show after being absent from recent episodes.

Sue candidly opened up about the side effects of living with Bell’s palsy, which causes temporary weakness or paralysis in the muscles on one side of the face.

She explained: ‘I mean, I’ve had to relearn to do a couple of things since this Bell’s palsy’.

‘One is to speak through the side of my mouth, and the other one is chewing. Chewing takes a long time.’

‘I have offered to chew your food for you, but you declined,’ Steve added. ‘I’ve gotta say, you haven’t lost the sharp side of your tongue though, have you?’

‘No, it’s sharper than ever actually,’ Sue jokingly responded.

Fans quickly rushed to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their well wishes to Sue with some thanking her for raising awareness.

‘Best Wishes to Sue on #Gogglebox as she recovers from Bell’s Palsy x; Sending love to Sue; Poor Sue. Hope her Bell’s palsy clears soon.’

‘Fair play to Sue on #gogglebox for appearing with Bell’s palsy. Raising awareness can only be good, speaking as someone who is (hopefully temporarily) suffering from the same after brain surgery. I can imagine how much courage that takes.’

‘I didn’t know Sue had bells palsy hope she’s doing ok; Thoughts with Sue x one of my favourites on #gogglebox.’

During the episode of Gogglebox the cast reacted to Jamie Cooks Christmas, You Bet!, The 1% Club, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, and Netflix’s new spy thriller Black Doves.

The new eight-part Netflix series Black Doves, which was released last Thursday and scored a perfect 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes just one day after its launch, is a thriller starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw.

But despite featuring spies, murders and assassins, the show has been labelled a ‘Christmas series’ by delighted viewers, who claim the festive soundtrack and setting gave them the ‘Christmas feels’.

Set in London in December, ahead of the big day, the thriller follows Keira’s character Helen Webb as an agent passing on secrets she’s managed to uncover from her politician husband (Andrew Buchan) to the Black Doves organisation.

Helen has been giving the firm – headed up by the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire) – political information for 10 years, but her position is compromised after the mother-of-two’s secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated.

Yet all the fighting and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing in the series isn’t enough to stop fans from branding it a festive offering, thanks to the Christmas tunes played in the background and the timing of the drama.

Gogglebox airs Fridays on Channel 4, with all episodes available to stream on demand.

What is Bell’s palsy?

Bell’s palsy is temporary weakness or lack of movement that usually affects 1 side of the face. Treatment with steroids can help and most people get better within 6 months.

Symptoms of Bell’s palsy include:

– Weakness on 1 side of your face, or not being able to move 1 side of your face – this usually happens over a few days

– a drooping eyelid or corner of your mouth

– drooling

– a dry mouth

– loss of taste

– a dry or watering eye

– You may also find it difficult to close the eye on the weak side of your face.

Treatments for Bell’s palsy include:

– A 10-day course of steroid medicine, sometimes with antiviral medicine

– Eye drops and ointment to stop the affected eye drying out

– Surgical tape to keep the eye closed at bedtime