Gogglebox Australia will introduce four Indigenous cast members – Kevin Yow Yeh, Bob Smith, Jared Hutchison and Mia Strasek-Barker – to the 2022 line-up.
The new Meeanjin/Magandjin-based cast members are keen to use Gogglebox Australia — which premieres on August 25 — to share their Indigenous culture and identity.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Kevin hoped to bring a “unique and fresh perspective” to Gogglebox Australia as a “First Nations family”.
Mia also told the publication they would use “blackfella terms and Aboriginal-English slang”.
While they’re now considered a Gogglebox household, the group don’t all live together.
Kevin and Bob have been in a relationship for five years and have two children, while Jared lives with his partner of ten years, Preston, having first met Kevin and Mia while working at a university.
The “family” first bonded at university while discussing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community politics, quickly discovering their shared passion for social justice.
These days, the mob get together to watch Aussie and international shows like Euphoria, Wentworth, RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Project. They’re also partial to a good crime documentary.
Who Are Gogglebox Australia 2022‘s New Cast Members?
Kevin Yow Yeh
Kevin is a Queensland University of Technology lecturer and research student, focusing on the best ways to support First Nations peoples seeking justice and compensation for workplace racism.
He grew up in Butchulla Country (Hervey Bay) and is the oldest of seven siblings across two families; and remains closely connected to his family across Queensland’s South East Corner.
Kevin and Bob live in Meeanjin/Magandjin (Brisbane) and co-parent with the mother of their two sons.
Bob Smith
Bob is a Kamilaroi man with ancestral ties to St George in Queensland and was raised in Mununjali Country (Beaudesert).
The 34-year-old met Mia and Jared through Kevin and said they’ve all formed a strong relationship over “big belly laughs and yarns about life, love, relationships, and social justice”.
Jared Hutchison
Jared has Kalkadoon, Undumbi and South Sea Islander heritage and was born in Meeanjin / Magandjin (Brisbane). He also has strong family ties in Townsville, Bowen and Rockhampton.
Mia Strasek-Barker
Mia grew up in Lightning Ridge, a remote multicultural region famous for black opals.
She is a Yuwaalaraay/Gamilaraay woman and also has Slovenian heritage.
Mia studied a Bachelor of Public Health at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.
She now works at the University of Queensland, managing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections and Services.
Who Else Is Set to Appear on Gogglebox Australia 2022?
Kevin, Bob, Jared and Mia will join many familiar faces in the new season of Gogglebox Australia 2022.
The Gogglebox 2022 cast includes the Delpechitra family and Matt and Kerry Dalton with their daughters Millie and Holly.
Emmie, Kerry and Isabelle Silbery will return in 2022, along with Greek besties Anastasia and Faye and married couple Lee and Keith.
The Fahd family – Sarah Marie, Matty and almost three-year-old Malik – have invited uncle Jad back into their lounge room.
Larrikin duo Adam Densten and Symon Lovett are back on the couch, along with surfing mates Milo Alan and Nic Berriman and foodie siblings Tim and Leanne Lai.
The first episode of Gogglebox Australia 2022 will be dedicated to the late Di Kershaw. She and her husband Mick have been an integral part of the cast since 2015.
Gogglebox Australia airs first on FOXTEL and the following day on Network 10 on Thursdays at 8:30 PM.
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