The third and final series of The Circle began airing on Channel 4 on 16 March 2021, hosted by Emma Willis, and concluded on 9 April 2021 following twenty-one episodes. The series premiered after the conclusion of The Celebrity Circle. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series was pre-recorded from 13 September 2020 to 6 October 2020.
On 9 April 2021, the series was won by Natalya Platonova, who had played the game catfishing as "Felix", a 29-year-old Paratrooper. Manrika Khaira was the runner-up of the series. Both players finished joint-first in the final ratings, but due to Natalya receiving the most top ranks, she was crowned overall winner. In a change from previous series, there was no viewers winner. Instead, Natalya received the full £100,000 prize fund. In May 2021, Channel 4 announced that it would not be renewing the show and that season 3 would be the last.
Format changes Due to the series being pre-recorded, the weekly live shows that featured in the previous series were axed and instead replaced by a regular highlights episode. Unlike previous series, host Emma Willis delivered video messages to the players informing them of upcoming twists, similar to the spin-off Celebrity series. These messages could be private to the players or shown to the group. Due to being pre-recorded, the viewers vote at the end of the series was also axed. Instead, the winner from the series received the full prize fund of £100,000.
Players The first set of contestants taking part in the series were revealed on 13 March 2021.
Name Age Hometown Playing as Entered Exited Status Jamie Dutton-Forshaw 57 HampshireFather & Daughter playing as "Penny", a 49-year-old letting agentEpisode 1Episode 4Blocked Millie Dutton-Forshaw 20 Yolanda Thomas 30 London "Chris", her 29-year-old husband, but single A clone of "Tally" Episode 1Episode 4Blocked Billy Dawson 19 Essex Himself Episode 1 Episode 8Blocked Tally Brattle 23 Worthing Herself, but single Episode 1 Episode 10Blocked James Crossley 47 London "Gemma", a 31-year-old NHS nurse Episode 1 Episode 13Blocked Vithun Illankovan 23 London Himself Episode 1 Episode 14Blocked Scott Paige 30 Manchester "Dorothy", his 85 year-old grandmother Episode 5 Episode 19Blocked Shabaz Ali 29 Blackburn"Alice", a 23-year-old teacher Episode 17 Episode 21Blocked Pippa Walker 26 Manchester Herself "Tom", a 29-year-old priest Episode 11 Episode 21Fifth place Joey Alabi 26 London "Femi", a Nigerian immigrant version of himself Episode 11 Hashu Mohammed 28 Birmingham "Syed", a 63-year-old restaurant owner Episode 1 Episode 21Fourth place Andy Smith 34 Solihull Himself Episode 1 Episode 21Third place Manrika Khaira 24 Birmingham Herself Episode 1 Episode 21Runner-up Natalya Platonova 30 Reigate "Felix", a 29 year-old paratrooper Episode 5 Episode 21Winner
Results and elimination +Colour key The contestant was blocked. The contestant was an influencer. The contestant was immune from being rated and blocked. The contestant was blocked, but returned as a different contestant. The contestant was at risk of being blocked following a twist.
Episode 1 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 7 Episode 9 Episode 12 Episode 14 Episode 16 Episode 18 Episode 20 Episode 21Final Natalya"Felix" Not inThe CircleExempt Notpublished =2nd2nd1st5th Notpublished =1st Winner (Episode 21) Manrika =6th 5th Yolandato block1st Notpublished Exempt1st 3rd=1st Notpublished =1st Runner-up (Episode 21) Andy 3rd 2nd Yolandato block2nd Notpublished1st 5th 7th3rd1st 3rd Third place Hashu"Syed" 8th 1st Yolandato block =4th Notpublished 4th =3rd 4th=1st Notpublished 4th (Episode 21) Joey"Femi" "Tom" Not inThe CircleExempt 6th 6thExempt Notpublished 5th Fifth place Pippa Not inThe CircleExempt 7th 5thShabaz"Alice" Not inThe CircleExempt Notpublished Blocked(Episode 21) Scott"Dorothy" Not inThe CircleExempt Notpublished =2nd =3rd2nd4th Blocked(Episode 19) Vithun =4th 3rd Tallyto block =4th Notpublished 5th 8th Blocked(Episode 14) James"Gemma"1st =6th Yolandato block =4thNotpublished 6th Blocked(Episode 13) Tally =6thExemptto vote 3rd Notpublished Blocked(Episode 10) Billy 2nd =6th Tallyto block 7th Blocked(Episode 8) Yolanda"Chris" "Tally" =4thExemptNot eligibleto vote Blocked(Episode 4) Jamie & Millie"Penny" 9th 4th Blocked(Episode 4) Notes 1 2 3 4 5 6 none 7 none 8 9 Influencers James Andy,Hashu none Andy,Manrika Andy Andy,Manrika Manrika,Natalya Natalya,Scott Hashu,Manrika Andy none Blocked Yolanda"Chris"Influencer's choice to block"Penny"Influencers' choice to block Yolanda"Tally"4 of 6 votes to block BillyInfluencers' choice to block TallyBlocker's choice to block James"Gemma"Influencers' choice to block VithunInfluencers' choice to blockPippaNatalya's choice to blockScott"Dorothy"Influencers' choice to blockShabaz"Alice"Super Influencer's choice to block"Tom"Lowestrated playerHashu"Syed"Fourth highestrated playerAndyThird highestrated playerManrikaHighestrated playerJoey"Femi"Scott's choice to blockNatalya"Felix"Highestrated player
Notes
Reception The Guardian reviewed the series positively in the final week, describing it as "The next Big Brother" and embracing "the unnatural nature of reality TV", though "twists may have tipped slightly into excess in the final week".
Manrika Khaira was singled out for abuse and death threats on social media during the airing of the programmes. Digital Spy put this down to young women being "often seen to be 'acting above their station' if they are anything but apologetic and accommodating to others. Other factors, such as race, can also compound this issue." Digital Spy concluded that she was "getting a lot of air time at the moment, which just goes to show that without her involvement there can't be much else happening in The Circle that would be worth us watching." After the series finale, Khaira's management company asked Channel 4 to stop posting content about her, in an attempt to reduce the backlash.
The i newspaper described players "Syed" and Andy as "beloved both in and out of The Circle" and described Manrika as "a reality TV gift". It concluded that the series had "made for exceptional television, gripping us with twists and turns every night".
Viewing figures Official, 28-day consolidated ratings are taken from BARB and include Channel 4 +1. Catch-up service totals are added to the official ratings. Viewers (millions) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 SundayNo episode 1.37 No episode 1.32 Monday 1.37 1.37 1.48 Tuesday 1.74 1.24 1.31 1.52 Wednesday 1.41 1.41 1.61 1.47 Thursday 1.39 1.49 1.54 1.44 Friday 1.55 1.67 1.86 1.72 Weekly average 1.52 1.43 1.54 1.49 Running average 1.52 1.46 1.49 1.55 Series average 1.55
References