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| Yes, a catfish won, but The Circle shows nice people can prosper on TV | Yes, a catfish won, but The Circle shows nice people can prosper on TV |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| It was the moment of awkward drama we had been waiting for. After three weeks of isolation in flats rigged with cameras, the final four contestants of The Circle, Channel 4’s latest – and most innovative – reality TV show, were about to meet each other face to face. It meant Kate would meet Dan. But, as viewers had known all along, Kate was really Alex, a 26-year-old YouTuber who had used pictures of his pretty girlfriend to create a new persona. | It was the moment of awkward drama we had been waiting for. After three weeks of isolation in flats rigged with cameras, the final four contestants of The Circle, Channel 4’s latest – and most innovative – reality TV show, were about to meet each other face to face. It meant Kate would meet Dan. But, as viewers had known all along, Kate was really Alex, a 26-year-old YouTuber who had used pictures of his pretty girlfriend to create a new persona. |
| Dan was so real he wore tattoos saying “integrity” and “honesty” (he might add a new one saying “genuine charm but slight gullibility”). He was also really nice and, via The Circle, the app contestants had used to communicate (they dictated messages to TVs in their flats and voted each other off, every other day) he had become fond of Kate. When Alex arrived at the finalists’ dinner, Dan was shocked, angry and embarrassed. He had been catfished – drawn into a relationship by a fake online profile. | Dan was so real he wore tattoos saying “integrity” and “honesty” (he might add a new one saying “genuine charm but slight gullibility”). He was also really nice and, via The Circle, the app contestants had used to communicate (they dictated messages to TVs in their flats and voted each other off, every other day) he had become fond of Kate. When Alex arrived at the finalists’ dinner, Dan was shocked, angry and embarrassed. He had been catfished – drawn into a relationship by a fake online profile. |
| Then, in a live final that ditched innovation for cliched fireworks and insanely drawn-out dramatic pauses, Alex won the show – and £75,000. For the last 10 minutes of the series, it seemed as if a social experiment for the digital era – Big Brother meets Black Mirror – had become a gaudy celebration of deceit. But while that was the take embodied by today’s headlines, it’s not how I saw The Circle, or even Alex’s victory. | Then, in a live final that ditched innovation for cliched fireworks and insanely drawn-out dramatic pauses, Alex won the show – and £75,000. For the last 10 minutes of the series, it seemed as if a social experiment for the digital era – Big Brother meets Black Mirror – had become a gaudy celebration of deceit. But while that was the take embodied by today’s headlines, it’s not how I saw The Circle, or even Alex’s victory. |
| The Circle confirmed what has been evident in reality TV for some time now. We prefer nice people. Nice people win. Strictly, this week’s snog scandal notwithstanding, is a nice show in which nice people dance. See also Bake Off and its derivatives. Even Love Island, a show entirely set up to enable bed-swapping, back-stabbing and voyeurism, couldn’t help but become, in the latest series, a love-in when the nicest, most faithful couple, Dani and Jack, won. | The Circle confirmed what has been evident in reality TV for some time now. We prefer nice people. Nice people win. Strictly, this week’s snog scandal notwithstanding, is a nice show in which nice people dance. See also Bake Off and its derivatives. Even Love Island, a show entirely set up to enable bed-swapping, back-stabbing and voyeurism, couldn’t help but become, in the latest series, a love-in when the nicest, most faithful couple, Dani and Jack, won. |
| In The Circle, about half of the contestants chose to deceive to some extent. But even in the simulated mire of social media, the catfishes couldn’t help but play nice too. The big difference was motive. Real catfishes set out to humiliate and dominate, exploiting victims for kicks. In The Circle, they set out to win some cash, sure, but also not explicitly to fool, but rather to experiment with or escape social labels. That was what made the show fascinating – and often very funny. | In The Circle, about half of the contestants chose to deceive to some extent. But even in the simulated mire of social media, the catfishes couldn’t help but play nice too. The big difference was motive. Real catfishes set out to humiliate and dominate, exploiting victims for kicks. In The Circle, they set out to win some cash, sure, but also not explicitly to fool, but rather to experiment with or escape social labels. That was what made the show fascinating – and often very funny. |
| Genelle decided not to reveal that she was caring for her six-month-old baby to remember what it was like not to be defined only as a mother. Mairead, 57, set out to be herself, pretty much, but used a much younger profile picture. She wanted to remember what it was like not to be a 50-something “invisible” divorcee (she bloody loved it). Freddie, a ribald Essex boy, set out to play it straight not because he is ashamed of being gay (he really, really isn’t) but because he was fed up with women seeing him only as a stereotypical “gay best friend”. | Genelle decided not to reveal that she was caring for her six-month-old baby to remember what it was like not to be defined only as a mother. Mairead, 57, set out to be herself, pretty much, but used a much younger profile picture. She wanted to remember what it was like not to be a 50-something “invisible” divorcee (she bloody loved it). Freddie, a ribald Essex boy, set out to play it straight not because he is ashamed of being gay (he really, really isn’t) but because he was fed up with women seeing him only as a stereotypical “gay best friend”. |
| The Circle finale: how Channel 4's dating show won me over | The Circle finale: how Channel 4's dating show won me over |
| Alex, meanwhile, said he had been the victim of a catfish in real life, and wanted to expose the perils of trust online, while also taking on the challenge of creating a popular young woman. His was the greatest deception, but that burden wore him down, and he tried desperately to avoid romance. When more astute contestants got suspicious early on, he only started to become popular by bringing more of his own personality into his fake persona (and, yep, he’s also a nice guy). | Alex, meanwhile, said he had been the victim of a catfish in real life, and wanted to expose the perils of trust online, while also taking on the challenge of creating a popular young woman. His was the greatest deception, but that burden wore him down, and he tried desperately to avoid romance. When more astute contestants got suspicious early on, he only started to become popular by bringing more of his own personality into his fake persona (and, yep, he’s also a nice guy). |
| The flashy final and cash prize risked killing off the complexity The Circle had built. No reality show can entirely escape accusations of voyeurism, but this one did more than that, exploring the fraught freedom of online identity in a new way. Guileless Dan came closest to being a victim, but even he had said, in a brief spell of doubt, that he wouldn’t care if Kate were fake because he liked their relationship. In the end, he sealed her victory by giving her high scores while others voted more tactically. Alex may yet consider repaying the favour with a chunk of his winnings. It may be that in this unlikely potential gesture niceness in reality TV finds its limit. | The flashy final and cash prize risked killing off the complexity The Circle had built. No reality show can entirely escape accusations of voyeurism, but this one did more than that, exploring the fraught freedom of online identity in a new way. Guileless Dan came closest to being a victim, but even he had said, in a brief spell of doubt, that he wouldn’t care if Kate were fake because he liked their relationship. In the end, he sealed her victory by giving her high scores while others voted more tactically. Alex may yet consider repaying the favour with a chunk of his winnings. It may be that in this unlikely potential gesture niceness in reality TV finds its limit. |
| • Simon Usborne is a freelance writer | • Simon Usborne is a freelance writer |
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