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I was a Big Issue vendor and now I’m a Gogglebox star

Sandra Martin believes she was able to turn her life around thanks to The Big Issue. She has since found fame on Gogglebox.

Only four years before Sandra Martin found fame on Gogglebox, she was selling The Big Issue. She lost her home after a stint in jail and struggled with alcohol abuse.

“One day, I saw someone with a copy of The Big Issue in the hostel,” she says. “I wanted an opportunity to get out there and do something positive instead of drinking, drinking, drinking.

“That was the start of my luck turning around. Suddenly lots of good things started happening. I think The Big Issue brought me good luck. Because of The Big Issue I was able to change my life around. It really feels like that.”

@sandragogglebox

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Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

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