The Circle is getting its first celebrity series

Image Source/ IMDb

The Channel 4 reality series – which sees contestants communicate over a social media platform with the choice of using their real identity or fake profile – is returning to screens this summer with famous faces competing in the popularity contest.

A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column:

‘Producers have already started putting out the feelers to some celeb names to see if they’ll be free for filming.

‘They want to get a mixture of showbiz names, sports stars and older celebs so they can draw in a wider audience. At the moment it’s mostly watched by youngsters, so they would like to broaden that fan base’.

Last year’s series saw former This Morning host Richard Madeley take part as 27-year-old Judy before being blocked by the other players.

He later revealed his true identity in a video clip shocking the contestant who had their doubts about Judy.

The series also granted fellow player Woody Cook – who is the son of BBC Radio 2 broadcaster Zoe Ball and DJ Fatboy Slim – the chance to succeed without his famous parents.

Though not much has been revealed about the upcoming series, the winner will donate their £100,000 cash prize to charity.

Emma Willis will be back as the host.

The Voice presenter previously admitted she was “very sceptical” about signing up to present the show prior to the last series, because she felt the programme was “celebrating” catfishing.

She said:

‘[I was] very sceptical about it before I’d watched it.

‘I pre-judged it, totally. I thought it was essentially catfishing, and should we really be celebrating that?

‘I watched it and I had a totally different opinion’.

Emma now believes the show plays an important role in helping people become aware of the dangers of social media.

She said:

‘It was like a glowing beacon of what we should all be aware of on social media, and that is, “Do not trust anybody.”

‘I’m super-paranoid, I don’t trust anyone with anything. Especially on social media, because you just don’t know who you’re talking to’.