The Circle on Channel 4: Richard Madeley signs up as first undercover celebrity contestant for TV show

Other players will have no idea who he is
Richard Madeley will be going undercover in The Circle
Channel 4
Tobi Akingbade24 September 2019

Richard Madeley is set to become the first celebrity to appear on the social media-inspired reality TV show The Circle.

However, the other contestants won’t know they have a famous face among them, as the 63-year-old will enter the game under a profile decided by viewers during the live launch.

The Channel 4 programme gathers a group of hopefuls and places them in separate apartments, only allowing them to communicate via social media network, called The Circle.

The show, presented by Emma Willis, sees some contestants “catfishing” their way to victory and posing as someone they are not in order to be voted most popular and win the £100,000 cash prize.

The Circle 2019 Contestants - In pictures

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The occasional Good Morning Britain presenter expects the persona to be “extreme and embarrassing”, joking: “I’m probably going to have to be a woman.”

Madeley said: “I think what I’m going to have to try and avoid doing is not attempt to be cool or clever, or as we used to say, a very old-fashioned phrase, a wise guy.

“I think I’ve just got to take it as it comes, basically be quite kind while I’m talking to people and stay away from difficult topics that can easily be misinterpreted.”

Madeley started his broadcasting career in the 1980s and became a household name while presenting TV shows including This Morning alongside wife Judy Finnigan.

Presenting: Richard Madeley is still at the helm of Good Morning Britain
Ken McKay/ITV/REX

Asked if appearing on The Circle would show viewers a previously unseen side of him, Madeley said: “I don’t know. I suspect that people who know me will just think, that’s him being him. I suppose they’ll see a more deconstructed side to me.

“See me cooking for myself, and yawning, and scratching my arse as I come out the bedroom and all that. But again, I don’t think that’s a big deal, it’s just telly.”

His famous parents know he is taking part and ‘are supportive’.

Woody Cook is joining The Circle
Channel 4

Cook explained: “They have given me a lot to think about from past experiences and advice. They said that what you say on TV is out there forever and you can’t unsay it and that once you share too much you never unshare it.”

Cook will play himself without mentioning his celebrity parents so he can get to know other contestants without being judged.

Speaking ahead of the show’s first episode, Cook said he “seriously doubts” that he will tell other players about his famous mum and dad.

“I might tell one person if I really trust them,” he said. “My whole life a lot of people have already known who I am before I meet them. This is a good chance to see if people actually like me on my own.”

The Circle airs on Channel 4 at 9.15 pm on Tuesday.

Additional reporting from Press Association.

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