The other contestants had no clue what was in store for them tonight, as Richard Madeley introduced himself tonight on The Circle.
But in a sneaky twist, he’s playing “Judy”, a 27-year-old university dropout from Bristol.
Chatting to the 63-year-old Good Morning Britain presenter, fellow contestant Jay wasn’t convinced by the way he spoke.
He commented: “It’s interesting that Judy doesn’t use any kisses or anything – it’s quite boring and direct.”
Eventually realising his mistake, Richard said: “I’m noticing they’re all using emojis…”
Choosing to use two “laughing face emojis”, he remarked: “I can’t believe I’m using an emoji!”
After watching the scene from home, viewers felt Richard’s lack of experience with emojis and kisses would give the game away.
One said: “I can’t cope with Richard Madeley getting all overwhelmed with his use of emojis.”
A second added: “You’d have thought that Richard would have done some preparation for this role!”
While a third remarked: “Richard is giving himself away by writing sentences like an old man.”
The other players were very convinced by Judy’s profile, and a few thought she was the real deal.
Zoe Ball’s son, Woody Cook, liked what he saw when he laid eyes on her profile, saying: “She’s pretty fit.”
Mum Katie, who is playing her son Jay added: “She sounds nice. She’s definitely real… I can just tell”.
Judy’s profile has some tricky hoops for Richard to jump through – it reveals she has gone to private school and met a lunar astronaut.
As soon as the chat opened, Tim asked: “Judy! Amazing profile. I long to know, which school? Which uni? Which astronaut?”
Whether Richard will be able to keep lying convincingly – or not – only time will tell.
The Circle continues on weeknights at 10pm on Channel 4.