The latest contestant blocked from The Circle has admitted she was “livid” that a rival chose to steal her identity on the show.
Receptionist Tally, 23, was forced to try to convince the other players she was in fact herself, after an unexpected twist early on in the Channel 4 series.
In the programme, contestants living in a block of flats communicate online without ever meeting face to face, meaning they can adopt fake identities and “catfish” one another.
It's Tally-Ho for Tally… but not before she finds out who she was REALLY up against in The Circle! 🤯 #TheCircle pic.twitter.com/gZrMB42r0r
— The Circle (@C4TheCircle) March 30, 2021
Dating agency founder Yolanda, 30, was the first person to be blocked, but was allowed to stay in the competition by cloning the identity of another player, choosing Tally.
Tally told the PA news agency: “Initially I was livid obviously. You go through this lengthy audition process and one or two days in you have a massive block to overcome.
“I felt like everyone was chilling and got to make friendships, whereas I had this thing to battle out. That’s where most of my anger came from.”
However, she said she soon realised Yolanda had made a difficult decision to stay in the competition.
She added: “I was really angry at first. It was because I was in the dark. I didn’t know somebody had been given an ultimatum.
“I thought that someone had applied to the show and said, ‘I want to go in and take someone’s identity’.”
Tally also praised Yolanda for entering the competition masquerading as her husband Chris, in a bid to raise his confidence.
She added: “I think it is a lovely thing to do and I think she was given a tough decision and she did the right thing.”
Tally also explained how her having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had made it more difficult to respond to the other players.
“If I say I have ADHD I feel like it justifies some of the reasons for me being the way I am,” she said.
“I am a huge overthinker. I process stuff so much more deeply than the average person, down to the fact my messages were going through like 10 minutes after everyone else, because I was like, ‘Make sure they like you, make sure you do this, make sure you do that’.
“When people say that with ADHD it is like having a merry-go-round in your head, I just can’t put it better myself.
“Every single detail I so overly analysed that it made it difficult for me to engage in conversation a little bit.”
The Circle continues Sunday to Friday at 10pm on Channel 4 and All4.