The Circle: Interview with Brooke
Category: Press Pack ArticleNAME: Brooke
AGE: 24 (25 on 29th September)
OCCUPATION: Disclosure officer
FROM: Buckinghamshire
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single
PLAYING AS: Herself
IN A NUTSHELL: Brooke is a globetrotter with a sense of adventure. A lady on a mission! She loves to explore the world for all its culture and is regularly away on holiday documenting it on her YouTube channel. She is fed-up of guys ‘inboxing’ her and fears romance is dead for her generation. She is hoping she might be proved wrong in The Circle. Brooke works in disclosures for the Home Office and hopes her analytical eye could be useful in The Circle.
MOTIVATION FOR ENTERING THE CIRCLE: She is a travel blogger and has recently attempted to visit 25 countries before the age of 25. She has one country left to visit! If she wins, she’d like to spend the money on seeing more of the world.
STRATEGY: She will use a combination of girl code and flirting to win. Pictures of her looking glam, but also pictures of her graduation to show she has brains as well as beauty. She isn’t scared to speak her mind however she is going to be very tactical with it!
What's your strategy to win the show?
I'm going to be playing myself in The Circle so I'm just going to be myself. However, I will hold back the fact that I'm a disclosure officer and say I'm a student or whatever because I'm a bit worried that the other players might get their backs up if they know what I do for a living. If you're a catfish, the last thing you want is someone with an analytical brain and the ‘preeing’ skills that I’ve got that could potentially sniff out who is real and who is fake.
Can you describe your profile on The Circle?
I'll be myself. I post a lot of holiday pictures in real life, but I'll be a slightly glammed down version. I'll be using smiley selfies, but nothing too glammed up. Because of the perception people already have of me based on my social media, I want to be myself and not the Brooke that is always on holiday. People have had the assumption that I'm an escort or a sugar baby because I'm always on holiday, so that's why I don't want to have that profile on The Circle.
What was it about The Circle that appealed to you and made you sign up?
It's a popularity contest and I don't struggle with being popular in real life. People get the wrong perception of me on social media when they see me in exotic locations and travelling so much so I thought this would be a nice way of showing who I really am instead of what they see on Instagram or whatever. The cash prize would be a nice cherry on top!
What is your strategy to win?
I'm going to be using the whole girl code in there. I'll flirt with the guys if I have to. I'll use all of that. I'm not holding anything back.
Why did you decide to be yourself?
Well, I don't struggle to be popular in real life so hopefully that will apply in The Circle as well, but also, I think being a catfish would be too hard work. Liars have to remember what they say.
How are you going to decide what pictures to use?
I'm going to try to go for pictures where I look smiley and happy, not stern or vain or stuck up!
How easy do you think it will be to win people over when you can only use pictures and words?
I don't. I think it will be a challenge and I like a challenge, but at the same time I'm assuming everyone is a catfish - guilty until proven innocent - and I assume they'll think the same of me.
What social media platforms do you use normally?
Instagram mostly, Twitter as well, Snapchat and a bit of Facebook as well. All of them!
Have you ever had any contact with a celebrity on social media?
No.
Who is your favourite social media star?
I love Rihanna. She's just so down to earth and humble and so gorgeous at the same time without being vain. She's just a babe.
Have you ever had a bad experience on social media?
You get all sorts of abuse on social media. You get racism and you get cyber trolled. YouTube is the worst. I don't report it. I just comment and say “thank you, kiss kiss”. It never gets to me. They'd never say that in real life. They are just keyboard warriors.
Have you ever been catfished?
No, but I have had my pictures used for catfishing. It's happened once or twice. Someone sent me a picture saying, 'I didn't know you were called Vanessa on Tinder' and I was like, 'I'm not!' Another one was my friend talking to this guy and he showed him a picture of a girl he was talking to online and he was like, 'No, that's Brooke!'
Do you think you'll be able to spot catfish in The Circle?
I'd like to think so because I'm very suspicious and wary and I doubt everything and everyone.
Is there anything that really bugs you about social media?
Yeah. Spammers, they just get blocked or deleted. The people who say, 'I just had an avocado for breakfast.' OK, just eat your toast love!
Were you popular at school?
I was quite popular! I wasn't prom queen but you know…
Are you looking forward to meeting Emma Willis?
Yeah, that will be cool!
How far would you go to win?
I'll go as far as necessary. I want to get to that 25th country under my belt!
What would you do with the prize money if you win?
All those people who think I'm a sugar baby I'll give them something to really talk about! I'm going to travel and live my best life and spoil my friends and family along the way.