The first game that the players were involved with tonight was called 'Gram Slam' which saw all of the players uploading their best party pictures to The Circle chat, and all of the other players were able to anonymously comment on each photo. Up first was Tally, whose picture seemed to get a lot of positive reviews, with Felix saying 'wow, didn't expect this' and Manrika also seemed quite excited. Andy shared a picture of him lying in bed which Vithun said that it was more of a picture after the party, with an anonymous comment saying 'once again, Andy trying to be the funny guy. Vithun uploaded an image of him in an elf costume which both Manrika and Gemma seemed to like, and Manrika explaining 'this is what I'm living for'. Billy commented on Syed's image by saying 'looking through Daddy's old photos and found this did we?' with another anonymous comments saying 'StockImage' and 'you look cool, but Syed is the son'. Manrika's image got a lot of love from Tally who said 'you're legit insane, I'm actually shook', with Manrika thinking that the comment was either from Felix or Tally.
The next image shared was from Billy, with Syed saying that he looks about 12, and Gemma couldn't believe that it was him, and that he's 19 years old. Manrika commented 'who knew catfishes culd be tropical, that's a new one?' with Gemma adding '#BillysMum #Catfish' which Billy replied to with 'who would think I'm a catfish? Tally was surprised with Dorothy's picture saying 'come on you old girl, show us what you got' and Syed adding that she's cutting shapes. Felix commented 'surprise surprise, what a perfectly cute party pic for an older gal', explaining that he felt good to be a little bit evil. Gemma also said that 'Nan has all the ingredients for an excellent catfish'. The players were all getting excited for Felix's image with both Andy and Manrika stating that he'd probably have his top off, with Manrika adding he would be in some gold pants. Tally fdescribed him as really pretty, Andy commented '#IWould' and somebody commented 'that smile's almost as fake as you'. Gemma chose her image, admitting 'it's got a bit more about it, bit of personality' with Tally stating she's a people pleaser and it kind of irritates her and somebody else commented 'wish you could be that straight with everyone' which Manrika seemed to agree with completely. Billy added a comment which said 'one of the many faces of Gemma'. Felix stated that some people are brutal, with Andy saying that 'some people are playing more of a game'.
Gemma decided to create a group chat with Andy and Syed called 'Catfish Hunters' where her first message was to explain that she had doubts about some of the other players, and hope that they might vote for her to become influencer again. Andy stated that 'this is bold but I like it', and Gemma explained that the alliance was really good, but it wasn't enough and she needed at least 2 more people on her side. Andy also admitted that he thinks the world of Syed, and just hoped that he's not a catfish. Tally said that the aim of the game is to get allies, and know that people would protect her if she was ever at risk. Syed started a private chat with Dorothy as they are the 2 oldest players of The Circle, with Syed admitting she was taking ages to reply, but it was adding to her credability, and they seemed to have a little bit of a flirt with Dorothy stating 'we could have the occasional nap away from the youngsters...I'm always here whenever you need me' to which Syed thought 'Dorothy I thought you were widowed...'. Dorothy then created a group chat with Manrika, Gemma and Tally, naming it 'Nanna Chat', with Manrika stating it was 'quite cute'. Gemma said that she needed to be careful how she messages and needed to win over the girls, with Manrika adding that Gemma needed Dorothy on her side, as she and Gemma both think that a lot of people don't seem to have her back as she initially thought they did. Tally added that she doesn't want Gemma to feel like an outsider! Dorothy realised that in the conversation after Tally and Manrika deciding that they would both be on Gemma's team, she needed to try and get in with the girl gang that was being created as they were 'making it all about them', with Tally thinking she went in too hard, and Manrika adding that they would be a 'good team to balance eachother out'.
Manrika started a group chat with Vithun and Andy, called the 'Circle Siblings Chat' as she has spoken to her older circle brother and younger brother separately but wanted to see if they were on the same wavelength. Andy said 'who doesn't love a chat with a yam yam and a costume wearing legend' to which Manrika explained was good, as the banter was coming out. She explained her private chat encounter with Felix adding that it got super saucy, with Vithun adding that everyone else seems to be interacting with the new people than he has, and it's always something he's struggled with. The next game that the players were involved with was called 'Sharing is Caring' which Manrika said was fine, unless it was food, and then she's not sharing. The game was a series of questions to help Dorothy and Felix find out more about the players. The first question asked the players what they would do with £100,000 and Andy instantly said that he would treat his family and invest the rest in his business, whilst Billy would buy lots of trainers and treat himself to a car and Tally would take her parents and family on holiday. Syed explained that he would make as much improement to poor areas in Bangladesh and Gemma would give the money to nurses at York hospital. Felix chose Syed's answer as the best answer, and both he and Syed were treated to a luxury spa, and also didn't have to play anymore of the game. Andy said 'I just get to find out information, what a day!'.
The second question was 'what are you most proud of?'. Tally said that she managed to accomplish 6 GCSE's even due to having ADHD, explaining that she was labelled as a naughty kid when in fact she just had lots of energy. Vithun explained that being in The Circle was his biggest achievement as he went from being bullied and scared, to confident! Gemma explained that she was working as a nurse through COVID and her biggest achievement was seeing the nurses coming together and Manrika explained her Dad's alcohol problem but that he'd been sober 3 years and was now helping others. Dorothy voted Manrika's as the best answer, and both her and Tally were treated to afternoon tea! The final question was for Billy, Gemma and Vithun; 'which living person do you most admire and why?' with Manrika quickly saying Gordon Ramsey, and Syed saying Manrika...Billy said Michael Jordan because of his passion for his craft and wanting to be the best in the world, Gemma said Nanna Dot and Felix because they're new to the game and she really wanted to win - which everyone thought was an easy answer, with Vithun saying 'Gemma oh for goodness sake' and Billy stating that she's playing the desperate card. Felix added that 'Gemma's gone from top to bottom of my list in a day' and Manrika added that Gemma is either not wanting to open up, or she is a catfish. Andy also said that this was his 'first moment of doubt about Gemma' and Felix explained that her answer was not going to work. Vithun's answer was that his mum was who he was most proud of, as she dealt with losing both of her parents and also fleeing the Civil War in Sri Lanka, and Felix chose his answer as the winning answer! Both Vithun and Billy were given a pub treat...and Gemma got no reward, but instead...a punishment! Tally explained that she thought Gemma was going to be gutted and Syed added that Gemma was almost like the bounty in the celebrations box!
Manrika invited Tally to another private chat to explain taht 'something's off about Gemma for me'. Emma Willis appeared on Gemma's screen and revealed to her that she will face a punishment, meaning that she will fight for her place in The Circle. Her task as the 'Circle Assassin' was to choose a target and ensure they got blocked after the next set of ratings...If she succeeded, she stays, if she fails, she goes! She explained that she's not in a good enough place to not be blocked and analysed each of the other players. She said that Andy is her only solid ally, Manrika would be too hard to block and no chnace of choosing Tally, especially after her Tally vs Tally drama from earlier. She explained that Vithun is loved by everyone and she was thinking of choosing Syed only because there were some anonymous comments suggesting he was a catfish...Gemma explained 'Billy might be a good target, and he's not who he says he is...he's being played by his mum' and explained that she was putting all her eggs into her catfish basket, and Billy was the target!
Felix had another private chat with Manrika, explaining that 'action man is locked down and you don't have to worry about me', as there were some anonymous comments that suggested Felix was talking to some of the other girls in a flirty way...Manrika added that she liked a cheeky guy and Felix's conversation seemed to be really forward, but she liked it! Felix explained that at the end of the day it's a popularity contest and if Felix has to be in a relationship to be the most popular, then so be it! Billy found his match when he had a brief conversation with Dorothy about dancing, and whether she could show him a few new moves...but the real drama came at the end of the episode. Gemma decided she wanted to try and stir the pot after choosing Billy as her target. She started a group chat with Syed and Andy to 'explain that Billy called himself out'. She entered the chat and started typing in capital letters that suggested she was excited to reveal the news to the boys...all while Syed was sitting at the table eating his garlic bread. After she revealed that she had a conversation with Billy, Andy was instantly a little suspicious, stating 'she's got in amongst Billy which is great news, but this doesn't feel like Gemma language to me...'. Gemma explained that 'he's 100% a CATFISH' adding that she thought it was definitely his mum, as his profile says he's into football and trainers, but he was clueless when asked questions about it, and also he didn't know who won the most recent World Cup! Gemma said that she wasn't even trying to cath Billy out, she just wanted to make a new ally, adding that she was 'glad I could vent this with you guys'. She explained that the seed had been set, and she should at least have 2 people on his side. Syed stated that I do feel like she could just turn on Syed one day and Andy revealed 'Billy, we're coming for you my son!'
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