Gogglebox star opens up on procedure after eyesight 'was getting worse'

Stephen Webb has avoided cataracts after having vision correction surgery, revealing it has made him feel like a "new person".

In August, the former Gogglebox star underwent Laser Lens Replacement/Refractive Lens Exchange - a common procedure that involves replacing the natural lens inside the eye with a synthetic implant, starting at £3,497 per eye.

Stephen, 54, felt "conscious" by how "bulgy" his eyes looked in glasses - of which the lenses kept "getting thicker" due to how bad his sight was getting.

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The TV personality had a "15-minute per eye" treatment with Sheraz Daya at Centre for Sight's hospital facility in Oxshott, Surrey, and the result of sharper vision has had a huge impact on Stephen.

Stephen, who appeared on the Channel 4 reality programme with his ex-partner Daniel Lustig until they quit in September 2023, exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "I've been wearing glasses since I was, like, 20.

"And every year, I'd go and get my eyes checked, and my prescription was just - the last sort of like 10 years, they’re just getting worse and worse and worse. So my prescription was going up, so that meant my glasses were getting thicker.

"So in the end, the last pair of glasses I bought just made my eyes look like the bottom of two bear glasses - really magnified.

"And I was really conscious about it - especially when people would look at you from side on, it would kind of make your eyes look really bulgy.

"So that was one of the reasons, pure vanity. I'm just sick of wearing [glasses]. They're so expensive - every year I'd have to pay at least £6/700 for a pair of glasses.

"I've got really nice frames, they were always between 2 and 300 quid, the lenses are [£]400, and I was just finding that they just weren't lasting, they were scratching a lot quickly.

"And I just thought, ‘I’m 54, I’m never going to get cataracts now.’ So I guess it was just preventative as well from stopping [my eyes] from getting even worse."

Asked if he feels like a new person since his Laser Lens Replacement/Refractive Lens Exchange, Stephen continued: "Yeah, I do. Just because I'm really active, I do a lot of running, I horse ride, and wearing glasses is just a hindrance.

"When you're running, they steam up; you can't see through them. And it's the same horse riding, I have to wear my helmet, and [glasses] just always got in the way.

"But glasses are always an issue. So, it’s just nice to be free of them."

Now that he no longer wears glasses, Stephen revealed that people are not recognising him as much.

Speaking about his recent trip to Benidorm, Spain, the Celebs Go Dating star said: "People who tend to go to Benidorm are definitely my demographic - that’s my core fan base!

"And, yeah, it was just so lovely to go away for - I was only there four days to get some sun and not get recognised ... it was just nice to have a break from that."

However, Stephen's distinctive voice is his "second" giveaway, as he quipped: "My big giveaway was my glasses. But my second giveaway is my voice.

"So if I speak too loudly, I'd see a few people look, they recognise - and people that approach me go, ‘I heard the voice.’ So I still had to [talk] quiet."

Stephen was treated by Mr. Sheraz Daya at the Centre for Sight, the UK’s leading, trusted centre of excellence for advanced eye care, innovation and life-changing results. For more information, visit centreforsight.com.