We’re pleased to say that Richard Madeley’s debut on The Circle last night was everything we’d hoped for and more.
Much of the episode was hooked on his entrance into the show’s apartment complex, and despite his entire moment in the spotlight lasting just over a minute, it was TV gold.
First off, he entered on a clearly-rehearsed joke about Boris Johnson, before giving a shout-out to his wife Judy Finnigan and poking around his new digs, pointing out what a lovely “prison” he’d entered.
Richard then drew viewers’ attention to the guitar he’d brought in with him, pointing out that it was for his “downtime” (we already can’t wait for Richard Madeley to lead the nation in a sing-a-long), before geeking out over the typewriter he’d been provided with.
And then, just when you thought that Richard Madeley walking around a flat and talking to himself was already a minute of television that couldn’t be topped, he actually nearly fell over, making an already perfect entrance even more perfect.
And as ever when Richard appears on TV these days, it didn’t take long for the Alan Partridge comparisons to start rolling in...
The idea of The Circle is that participants can only communicate with their fellow contestants via a purpose-built social media platform, in a bid to be named the most popular and win £100,000.
In order to do this, some players choose to come up with alternative personalities to their own, with viewers given the choice to vote between two alter-egos Richard will be playing as during his short stint on the show.
The Circle continues tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.