A long-standing Gogglebox favourite has spoken out after claiming her quality of life has “gone downhill” since her home telephone landline was abruptly cut off.
Mary Killen, who has appeared on the Channel 4 hit show for 11 years alongside her husband Giles Wood, says the change came after BT Openreach upgraded her home phone system to digital — a move she insists was carried out without her instruction or consent.
According to Mary, the switch resulted in her traditional copper landline being removed entirely, replacing it with a Wi-Fi-dependent digital service that has since proven deeply unreliable.
She claims her new phone line frequently cuts out due to poor internet connectivity, despite repeated visits from engineers attempting to resolve the issue.
Workers have reportedly blamed the problem on the thick walls of her old cottage in Wiltshire — a claim Mary disputes, pointing out that she had no issues with her landline for decades before the digital upgrade.
Writing candidly in The Spectator, Mary said the loss of her dependable landline has affected far more than just convenience.
“For decades I spent many happy hours per day lying in bed,” she wrote, “organising jobs and romantic partners for friends — piecing together information unearthed through long, meandering conversations on the copper landline.”
Without the ability to talk freely and reliably on the phone, she said, even her informal matchmaking has suffered.
The disruption comes as BT rolls out its nationwide Digital Voice programme, which involves retiring the UK’s copper phone network and replacing it with a fully digital system reliant on broadband routers.
While the telecoms giant initially aimed to complete the transition by 2025, the deadline was pushed back following safety concerns.
The rollout was temporarily halted in 2022 after Storm Eunice left some households unable to call 999 when power cuts knocked out internet connections — raising alarm over the risks of a fully digital system.
Although BT has since offered customers battery back-up units and hybrid handsets, Mary argues these solutions are only effective for those with strong mobile signal — something many rural and remote communities lack.
She also questioned why a system that had worked reliably for generations needed to be dismantled in the first place.
“The old system wasn’t broken,” she said, “so why did it need fixing?”
Mary went further, warning of the potential dangers of relying entirely on digital infrastructure in the event of a major blackout.
She referenced historic power and communications shutdowns, asking what would happen if a similar situation were to affect the UK.
“In a digital blackout,” she wrote, “where would we turn for information? Carrier pigeons? Only some of us have had the sense to keep analogue radios.”
The reality star argued that Britain’s communications network should retain at least a skeleton analogue service, rather than abandoning it entirely.
A spokesperson for BT responded by saying the company was sorry to hear about Mary’s experience but could not comment on her specific case without customer details.
They added:
“We’ve attempted to get in touch with Mary but haven’t heard back. We’d encourage her to contact us so we can understand which provider she’s with and see if BT can help.”
As the digital switchover continues across the country, Mary’s experience has struck a chord with many viewers — particularly those in rural areas who fear being left disconnected as familiar systems disappear.
For now, the Gogglebox star says one thing is clear: the move away from landlines has cost her more than just a dial tone.
