The Circle: Interview with Beth
Category: Press Pack ArticleNAME: Beth
AGE: 29
OCCUPATION: Business development
FROM: Newcastle
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single
PLAYING AS: Catfishing as a “girl-next-door”
IN A NUTSHELL: Beth describes herself as a feisty, competitive, girl’s girl from Newcastle. She’s business minded and loves her family. Beth has been single for years, even though she falls in love easily. She’s had no luck with men but is looking for the one and thinks Newcastle has no decent men. She’d doesn’t have a type. Beth has experienced being outcast because of her good looks. She is a completely down to earth girl, but she knows she gets prejudged because of her good looks so she wants to enter The Circle without them.
MOTIVATION FOR ENTERING THE CIRCLE: Beth will enter The Circle using photos of a less glamourous, “girl-next-door” because she gets prejudged every day for the way she looks. Men think she’s intimidating, women think she’s a bitch and people online don’t think she’s real. Beth wants to prove she’s more than her good looks and knows that if real life experiences are anything to go by she’ll be more popular in The Circle if she doesn’t look as glamorous as she usually is.
STRATEGY: Beth’s profile information will remain mostly true to her, she will be 26, and called Beth, from Newcastle the only difference is the photos will be of a more average looking girl that will not intimidate the other players. Beth believes by using the photos of a female that is less glamorous, her profile will be more approachable; less judged and therefore gives herself a better chance of winning.
Are you open to finding love on The Circle?
I'd love to find love. It would be a miracle. I can't find it anywhere else!
What made you sign up for The Circle?
I watched the trailer and got information on show and thought 'this is a bit of me'. I did sociology at university and this is a little bit like a social experiment. It's a current and relevant show to be involved in.
Can you describe your profile on The Circle?
My profile is literally going to be me. It will be my name, my age, my personality but I'm going to be using somebody else's pictures. It's going to be somebody who's more Average Joe looking, somebody who's a bit glammed down. I want to do that is see if I can basically win the show using my personality only. I think in life if you look good, you get preferential treatment. But also, if you look good, you sometimes get judged a bit more. I want to allow my personality to shine.
Would you describe yourself as very glam normally?
Yes, I am and especially in what I put forward on my social media. I don't post pictures of myself looking like crap, I always put my best pictures on, so I think the impression that people get is that I am quite high maintenance, but the reality is that I only look like that two days a week and the rest of the week I look a bit minging.
What's your strategy for winning?
My strategy is to not blow my cover but also to be myself. I'm very confident in the person that I am and I believe that the personality that I have will get me to the final and hopefully win. And I just hope that actually I'm not proved wrong. And I hope that personality does kind of win and get you far in life. Beauty is not skin deep, there is more to a person than what they look like.
How did you choose the pictures you're going to be using?
I just wanted to play The Circle as a nice-looking girl but who doesn’t look intimidating, just quite friendly looking.
Which social media platforms do you use at home?
I use Instagram. And I use Facebook a little bit, but I only use that for my family and friends.
Have you ever been in contact with a celebrity on social media?
Craig David follows me on Instagram. He messaged me years ago.
Have you got a favourite social media style celebrity that you follow?
I love Russell Brand and Kim Kardashian.
Have you ever had a bad experience on social media?
I have had maybe six or seven occasions where people have used my pictures as their own. They used them on Plenty Of fish on Instagram and on Twitter.
Have you ever been catfished?
No.
Do you think you'll be able to spot any catfish in The Circle?
I am quite an intuitive person and I can pick up on vibes very quickly. I would like to say I will be able to, but I don't know how I'll be in that situation. When I watched last year's episodes I think some of the ones are obvious but that's as a viewer. When you're in there it's a whole different kettle of fish.
Is there anything that really bugs you about social media?
There are a lot of people who are keyboard warriors and say things they wouldn't normally say. I don't like that about social media. It should be about empowering each other, not bringing people down. And I would hate to know how many times I've checked my Instagram today.
Were you popular at school?
I went to a big high school with 350 people in our year group, but I had lots of friends and I had my close friends. I had a great experience at school. I was never bullied but I was never the most popular person in the world.
Are you worried if you get to the end whether you might sort of have a backlash about your true identity?
No, I'm not worried about that at all. If I did meet a guy and he liked me for me and then at the end I'm actually better looking than my picture, well he can't be mad about that can he?
How far will you go to win?
I'm very true to myself. I will go to whatever lengths I have to without compromising my own integrity, dignity, values and beliefs.
What would you do with the prize money?
I'd be on my way straight to Selfridges to buy myself a new bag. I would invest some of it and maybe put a deposit down on a house and go on holiday. I'd like to go to Dubai.