Ahead of the return of the Channel 4 reality series, it's been revealed that 63-year-old TV presenter Richard Madeley will be entering the apartment block - but who he plays the game as is up to you.
The broadcaster, journalist and author, best-known for hosting This Morning alongside wife Judy will be at the mercy of the viewers as he doesn't know what his profile will be in The Circle as that decision is in the hands of the viewers who'll vote via the show's official app. But he has said he intends to enter as an "agent of mischief".
Together with Judy he share's his time between Cornwall and London and was encouraged by his two adult children Jack and Chloe to take part. Speaking about his family's reaction to him taking part in The Circle he said "Judy is completely baffled because she hasn't seen any of The Circle, and she wasn't aware of the concept of it"
"Normally I say no to most reality shows, things like Strictly and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and stuff. So she was a bit surprised as to why I said yes. Then when I explained it to her she kind of got it. But Jack, my son and Chloe my daughter, were thrilled. They thought it was a really, really cool thing to do."
An early adopter of Twitter, Richard describes the social media platform as "going into a new pub with a load of completely strange people you've never met before" and has over 200,000 followers. Talking about how he uses Twitter now, Richard said "I have a rule that I don't tweet, or even text, or even email anything, anything at all, that I wouldn't be perfectly comfortable seeing on the front page of the Daily Mail the next day. It's a really, really simple rule to follow. For example, if I want to say something about somebody that's unpleasant, or very, very critical or controversial, I'm not going to put it in an email because emails leak."
Fascinated by the idea that people in today’s society can form friendships and relationships before ever meeting in real life, Richard met his wife at work in a time before the web and social media. He wants to observe for himself how strangers get to know each other behind a screen.
He’s also looking forward to having some down time away from his phone and emails, hoping that disconnecting from the world outside will be like “going to a retreat”. But he has plenty of ways to kill the time "You aren’t allowed a laptop in there, so I’m going to have a typewriter, because I want to get on with my novel. I'm miles behind with my fourth novel, and I want to do some writing whenever there’s a bit of downtime. I'm taking my guitar with me, because I've got out of practice on my guitar and I want to get up to speed on that. So I'll be playing guitar, I'll be writing my novel."
Richard has worked in broadcasting for over 40 years and is used to meeting people from all walks of life, which may work to his advantage when it comes to chatting with the other Players in the game. However, he intends to steer clear of difficult topics that could be misinterpreted on Circle Chat.
Guessing as to who he might have to play the game as he said "I suspect I'm probably going to have to be a woman. I’m only guessing here. I suspect I'll probably have to be quite young in order to fit in. 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."
Meet the rest of the players and find out how they'll be playing the game here.
The Circle launches tonight at 9.15pm on Channel 4