The Circle (British TV series)

Format

Players live in separate flats within a refurbished block and never meet face-to-face during the competition. All communication occurs through messaging devices on a platform called The Circle. A player may create a profile that is genuine, altered, or entirely fictional; multiple players can share one apartment and operate a single profile, with a mechanism to direct messages to one or the other. Throughout the game, players rate each other.

In the first series, ratings were given as one to five stars and average scores were revealed. Later series used a ranking system. Eliminations, termed 'blockings', typically occur when the highest-rated players become 'influencers' and decide who to remove. Rules occasionally change: the lowest-rated player might be instantly blocked, influencers' identities might be concealed, or multiple players might be blocked at once.

Blocked players are eliminated and may briefly meet one remaining player; they are usually replaced by a new contestant. In the final, players rate each other one last time, and the highest-rated player wins a cash prize. Viewers could also select a 'viewers’ champion' from the finalists, who received additional money in the first two series.

Production

Each apartment is filled with screens in every room so players can hold conversations while going about daily life. At the start, each player creates a profile including age, relationship status, a short biography, and one photo. Daily status updates are allowed, and additional photos may be uploaded as rewards or upon reaching milestones. The Circle app is the sole communication method.

Episodes typically include a minigame designed to bond players, reveal information, test for catfishes, or create division. Most episodes also feature a rating exercise: players rank others, an average score determines placements, and the top-ranked players become influencers who decide who is blocked. The first series was produced in London. From the second series onward, production moved to a new apartment building in Salford, England, which also housed other versions of the show.

The building contains twelve furnished apartments, an exercise room, and a rooftop lounge, all equipped with cameras and screens. A 'testimonial room' is used by blocked players to record goodbye videos. Outside, a large illuminated circle made of an aluminium track with LED lights spans roughly 25 metres in diameter. The University of Salford’s former Centenary Building, opposite the apartments, served as the production base.

At any time, between twenty and thirty producers and camera operators worked in the control room, recording and sending all messages from The Circle.