Despite a big marketing push at the start, last year’s series of The Circle ended up passing most people by – but now it’s back on Channel 4, and this time it deserves your attention.
The reality show, which returned for its second series on Tuesday night, sees individuals living in isolated flats, who interact with one another via a purpose-built social media platform called The Circle.
Players don’t get to meet each other face-to-face, instead communicating through the profiles they share through The Circle, meaning they can effectively catfish the competition in order to be voted the most popular and win £100,000.
What’s more, this year, producers have introduced a celebrity into the mix in the form of Richard Madeley. And if you know anything about Richard Madeley, you’ll know that he makes incredible television (admittedly, not always intentionally).
But he’s not the only contestant serving up moments of TV gold, and while we might only be a matter of days into the series, here’s conclusive proof that The Circle should be your next reality TV obsession...
1. There’s a single mum pretending to be her son who is having all sorts of trouble getting her head around the language of a lad half her age.
2. Said single mum pretending to be her son has also had some emotional moments while chatting to the son of a single mum, who is pretending to be a single mum (don’t worry, we’re as confused as you are)
3. Then there’s Tim, who has brought his cat Bey (who we hope is named after Beyoncé, but can’t yet confirm) into The Circle with him. They have a somewhat complicated relationship...
4. And Tim’s laugh is absolutely extraordinary...
5. As is his Robin Williams impression...
6. Richard Madeley’s entrance into The Circle could not have been more Richard Madeley, as he strutted into the apartment carrying a guitar with a pre-prepared joke about Boris Johnson, before starting a conversation with a typewriter and nearly tripping over a piece of furniture.
7. Richard has subsequently been forced to play as a 27-year-old woman called Judy, which quite frankly is a stroke of genius.
8. This has led to Zoe Ball and Fat Boy Slim’s 18-year-old son Woody, who is one of the contestants, inadvertently flirting with Richard.
9. After someone gets blocked (aka evicted) from The Circle, they get to meet another player, which – if either of them has been catfishing the others – leads to moments of pure shock, like this one...
10. Richard Madeley has also been doing this, for reasons that will only become clear in Friday night’s episode...
11. Oh yeah, and it’s now presented by the fab Emma Willis, so if you’re missing Big Brother, this might help.
The Circle airs nightly at 10pm on Channel 4.