Back for a second series from tonight, the show sees players live in separate flats in an apartment block and communicate with each other only through a voice activated social media platform called The Circle. 

Players, who can be whoever they want on their Circle profiles, as they are hidden behind a screen, can choose to hide certain things, change their identity entirely or simply be themselves. There’s an incentive of £100k on offer for the winner.

One of the players on this latest series, who certainly isn’t playing as himself, is James Doran, a recruitment consultant at Michael Page, who will be playing as single mother ‘Sammie’.

Doran told Channel 4 he believes that his skills of communication will help him get ahead on the show. Even though, he adds, he’s using this character to gain sympathy from other players, he believes he’s doing it for the right reasons as he wants to use the prize money to help open a refuge for women and children, put a deposit on his house, travel and treat the family.

He added his priority in life is to make sure his family never go without as he has seen how tough it can be for single mothers, having been brought up in a single parent household himself, and has huge respect for his mum as a result.

So how does it all work? Across the series the players rank each other out of five and the least popular are ‘blocked’. The two highest-ranked players then become “influencers”. On their way out they finally get to meet one of their fellow players face-to-face and find out if who they have been talking to on The Circle is really who they say they are.

The finale sees contestants rank each other one last time – the highest rated player wins. Viewers at home will also be able to influence the show with live votes via The Circle’s app. [Maybe best to watch it and work it out from there… – Ed.]

Good luck, ‘Sammie’ – hopefully you can stay in The Circle right to the end!

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