THE CELEBRITY CIRCLE: CELEBS ON WHY THEY'RE JOINING THE CIRCLE

The Circle is back on Channel 4! The latest run of the high-tech game begins with a week-long all-celebrity edition, hosted by Emma Willis and with the voiceover of Sophie Willan.

For the first time ever, a group of celebrities move into the most famous apartment block in the UK, all in aid of Stand Up To Cancer. Expect twists and turns as these VIPs compete to be crowned The Circle’s most popular celebrity player.

How are feeling about joining The Circle?

Baga Chipz: "Oh, my God. Do you know what? Sometimes I'm like, "What are you letting yourself in for, Baga? What are you letting yourself in for?" But at the end of the day, I've been given an amazing opportunity. I'm new to the game, but I might be one of the most famous women in Britain at the moment! Since Drag Race, I've been given all these opportunities and I was just like, "You know what? I'm actually a fan of that show." I haven't got to eat creepy crawlies or I haven't got to do intense fitness workouts. So I was like, basically I'll be sitting on my ass trying to catfish people."

Denise Van Outen: "I’m so excited! I can't wait. It's going to be so much fun. I'm looking forward to it. I like the show anyway. I caught Richard Madeley on it the last time I was watching, and I thought it was really fun, so yeah, just can't wait to get started... I like the idea of trying to figure out if people were being genuine by throwing questions at people and trying to suss them out."

Duncan James: "It's nice to actually get out the house and do some work, just something to escape from the lockdown. I've been with my mum the whole time. I've loved it but you do start to go a little bit crazy at times, don't you? And it's just nice to have a little bit of an opportunity to do something different."

Nadia Sawalha: "It’s so exiting to really think about what we're going to do, and how we're going to play it! I love the idea of playing somebody else and hanging out with Kaye, we are like two mischievous sisters. I also love social media. I love it. For a long while, I was one of those, "What's all this social media rubbish?" And, now, it's a huge part of my life. I have a very busy Instagram and YouTube channel with all sorts of things going on including my family reality show, so whenever I'm not at Loose Women, I'm working on my social media seven days a week. I'm just fascinated by it."

Kaye Adams: "So much of our communication is around social media now, isn't it? I mean, it's an essential part of the way we communicate, it's the way you present yourself to the world. My kids are 18 and 13, not that they are particularly social media minded, but I think everyone now has a social media presence, and they have to think about how they present themselves. It used to be with kids, it would be how you walked in a room, and you shake the person's hand, and you look them straight in the eye, all of that kind of thing that my mum would have advised me. That's only one element of how you present yourself these days."

Lady Leshurr: "It's crazy, really. My emotions are all over the place. I'm a bit nervous, but at the same time, I'm quite excited. I'm looking forward to giving TV the entertainment that they've been dying for. I'm very excited."

Rickie Haywood-Williams: "Firstly, when the show first launched, myself and Melvin were just blown away by the concept of it. It was just so of this time, social media and the whole kind of trap that falls around catfishing and things like that. It's just really fascinating. We've always been really interested in doing this reality TV show. We were massive fans of Big Brother, obviously, when that was in its heyday and beyond that and just the psychological element of things as well."

Melvin Odoom: "You know what? Me and Rickie are secretly excited. It's an amazing concept and idea. And it's the cause, the fact that doing it for Stand Up to Cancer is a great cause as well. I think Channel 4 have done very, very well in addressing such a serious topic, but connecting them to shows that we all love. So, yeah, I think we're really lucky to be part of it, and we're gassed about the person we're going to pretend to be, as well."

Saffron Barker: "I'm really excited. I feel a bit nervous because I've never lived on my own before, I still live with my family. So it's going to be like such a strange experience, like not only am I not going to be in touch with everybody in the outside world, it's going to be the first time living alone. So I’m nervous and excited."

Charlotte Crosby: "I'm so excited. I am such a huge fan of The Circle. I just love TV, I'm one of those people who has seen every single reality show. Everyone's like, "Are you watching Selling Sunset? Are you watching this?" I'm like, "Yeah, I've watched them all." I am obsessed with TV. You know when you meet people and they're like, "I just don't watch TV." I'm like, "Why?" How could you not watch TV? It's my favourite thing to do."

Pete Wicks: "It's just such a good concept. Everyone goes on about catfishes, a lot of people have been catfished, or have been used as catfish. So I think it's just quite a good social experiment, isn’t it? I think me and Sam doing it together is going to be quite funny, because we could not be any more different if we tried. Us trying to join together to be someone else is all kinds of weird, if I'm honest about it."

Sam Thompson: "You know what? I'm going to be honest with you. The reason I've done this is because Pete Wicks will be contractually obliged to live with me for six days! That is 95% of the reason I'm doing this, and I've always wanted to be a catfish and I get to be now. What a brilliant opportunity."

The Celebrity Circle begins Tuesday 9th March at 9:15pm on Channel 4.

Interview: Channel 4