The Circle recap: Richard Madeley’s ‘Judy’ gets flirty with Woody ahead of second vote off

The Circle may have only kicked off a few days ago, but the Channel 4 series has already given us enough TV gold to last a good few months.

And last night’s instalment is absolutely no different.

In fact, newbie Richard Madeley has been settling into life as a Circler a little too well, and has been getting flirty with his co-stars.

Well, Judy has…

So, if you happened to have a Thursday night out, or were otherwise engaged, read on to see what you missed.

Richard Madeley’s ‘Judy’ an instant hit with Woody as they get their flirt on

Richard has been making himself right at home in the Circle, and alter-ego Judy seems to have gone down a treat with his co-stars.

But there is one Circler in particular who has taken a shine to the 27-year-old nutritionist tutor – Woody.

And, after branding the profile ‘fit’, Zoe Ball’s son took the opportunity to open up a private chat with her, to thank her for sending him some doughnuts.

Emelle was blocked from The Circle on the second day, with Tim and ‘Sammie’ deciding to vote her out.

And, after coming face-to-face with the ‘single mum’ who is actually a man called James, she shared a goodbye message to her fellow stars.

While Sy – who had been flirting with her – started panicking, he was quickly relieved to see her face, confirming she is the same as her profile picture.

But it wasn’t all true, as she revealed she had been ‘playing it straight’, and is in fact gay – apologising to the farmer for all the flirting.

Brooke is left shook by the whole thing, asking: ‘F**k! Who else has been lying about who they are?’

That’s for us to know…

Tim invents #ScholarSquad as ‘Jay’ and ‘Sammie’ get teary

Tim has been a total fan favourite since the second he stepped foot in his flat, and last night’s episode only went to cement this.

He decided to start up a #ScholarSquad with Brooke and Georgina, so they could help him learn a few things from a younger perspective.

While the trio were having a whale of a time in their private chat, Katie and James embarked on an emotional rollercoaster in theirs, bonding over their families.

Katie – or ‘Jay – tells ‘Sammie’: ‘I genuinely get the feeling you’re a genuine gorgeous person,’ to which ‘she’ replied: ‘Hearing the way you talk about your mum gives me hope. In the position I’m in, I do feel like I’ve let Charlie down sometimes and he may miss out on having a normal family with a loving dad x.’

Unfortunately it all got too much for the pair, who were moved to tears by the chat.

How will they react when they come face-to-face and realise they’ve been catfishing each other?

Second round of ratings

Just when everyone was starting to bond, bosses threw a spanner in the works by asking the Circlers to rate their co-stars, with the highest rated players given the opportunity to eliminate someone of their choosing.

Thankfully for us all – and especially Woody – Richard/Judy is too new to rate or be rated, leaving the other seven stars in the firing line.