Anyone can be anyone in The Circle, but when the aim of the game is to gain popularity, some are not who they seem. 

The reality series looks at the highs and lows of social media, as eight contestants try to win over their fellow competitors and convince them they are who they say there are for a chance to win the prize of £100,000.

The Circle sees contestants live in separate flats in the same building, but their only way to communicate with each other is through a social media platform called The Circle.

For series two, eight new contestants will enter The Circle and with a longer time in the game, gaining and maintaining popularity will be even harder.

Here are the eight contestants competing to be crowned The Circle winner.

Brooke

Brooke, a 24-year-old disclosure officer and travel blogger from Buckinghamshire, plans to play the game as herself.

Currently single, Brooke hopes the combination of following girl code and flirting will be the winning formula that gains her friends.

She wants to present multiple sides of her personality by using both glamorous and graduation photos, showing that she has brains and beauty.

If she wins she wants to use the money to see more of the world, having been to 24 countries already.

Woody

Woody, an 18-year-old pub worker from Brighton, plans to play himself but keep quiet about his famous parents, broadcaster Zoe Ball and DJ and record producer Norman Cook – also known as Fatboy Slim.

He wants to see if people really like him for him, without any pre-judgments because of who his parents are.

Woody hopes that by being completely himself and befriending everyone in The Circle he will become the most popular.

Emelle

Emelle, a 31-year-old model from Manchester, plans to play the game as herself but will change her sexuality and age.

Prior to entering The Circle, Emelle turned to her straight friends for advice on how to flirt with men, hoping that this will help boost her popularity.

She will also enter the game as a 24-year-old because she thinks the other players will like her more, but if that doesn’t work, she plans to take in a joke book to keep everyone entertained.

As a lesbian, Emelle believes having straight privilege will make it easier to get ahead in the game, having experienced homophobia online in the past.

Katie

Katie, a 43-year-old tanning salon owner from Hampshire, plans to play as her 25-year-old son Jay.

Worried that if she was herself she’d get written off as an “old bird”, Katie thinks that by using photos of a young, handsome and kind looking boy, she will be able to gain popularity by flirting with the girls and becoming the alpha male among the boys.

Katie knows that in order to convince her fellow contestants that she is young guy she will have to initiate “lad chat” and she plans to take in a glossary of “young person’s slang” so she can fit in.

James

James, a 26-year-old recruitment consultant from Liverpool, plans to play “Sammie” a single mother.

Hoping to catfish his way into the hearts of the players, James thinks the “Sammie” persona will gain sympathy from the other players giving him a fast pass into the final.

Having grown up in a single parent household, he knows how tough it can be and he would use the prize money to open a refuge for women and children.

He is ready to turn on his fellow players if it gets him one step closer to winning.

Sy

Sy, a 35-year-old fourth-generation farmer from Somerset, plans to play as himself and wants to be completely honest with his fellow players as he believes that this will gain their trust.

While in The Circle he wants to educate people on the realities of farming and country life, something he feels not many people know.

He will use photos of him with his dogs and cows to win over the animal lovers amongst the players and hopes the experience will be an adventure, he is also looking forward to living in an urban environment for the first time.

Georgina 

Georgina, a 21-year-old from Nottingham working in the tailoring industry, plans to play the game as herself.

Georgina is on a mission to suss out any catfish, ready to play a “full on sleuth” to stay one step ahead.

She will use everyday photos, some of which will be from when she had her ileostomy bag, in the hope that it will open up conversations about Crohn’s disease and show a more vulnerable side.

She thinks pretending to be someone else would make it harder to enjoy the experience and instead thinks her “charming” self will win people over.

Tim

Tim, a 58-year-old university academic and animator from Rugby, will play himself and describes himself as a cross between “Santa and Mrs Doubtfire”.

Tim wants to be the player everyone confides in and asks for advice, so he is ready to get involved in the game and put himself out there.

He wants to learn more about youth culture and prizes kindness over everything.  

He is worried that his colourful blazers, dickie bow ties and unusual life story – he was once a monk – will make people think he is a catfish, but he hopes to convince them otherwise.

 

The Circle starts tonight on Channel 4 at 9.15pm.