Squid Game: The Challenge player 243, Stephen, has revealed that some contestants were prematurely “booted from” the show after they broke the rules by “hooking up”.
Netflix’s new reality game show competition, based on the original 2021 South Korean drama, sees 456 contestants compete in a series of games and tests for the chance to win $4.56m (£3.55m) – the largest lump-sum jackpot in the history of reality TV.
Before the 16-day filming period at Warf Studios London, however, Stephen explained in a recent TikTok video that the contestants were “individually quarantined” in a hotel.
“[We were] not allowed to interact or talk to each other,” he said. “Some people got caught sneaking into each other’s rooms and hooking up so they got booted from the show.”
Stephen admitted that he and his friend Chase, player 456, were almost kicked off the show, too, after they were caught sneaking into each other’s rooms.
“But they were like, ‘Oh, they came here together anyway so they’re fine’,” he said.
The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.
(L-R) Stephen and Rick on ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’— (PETE DADDS/NETFLIX)
Warning, potential spoilers for ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ episode five to follow
Stephen became a fan-favourite due to his close bond with older contestant Rick, player 232. Together they were eliminated in episode five by player 229, Phalisia, who was given the opportunity to eliminate three contestants.
When asked on TikTok if he still kept in touch with Rick, Stephen shared that they “text almost every single day”.
Last week, player 301, Trey, claimed that several contestants used lubricated condoms to try and soothe their chapped lips.
In an interview with EW about his experience on the show, he said that while they were all provided with necessary toiletries, one thing that was left out was chapstick.
Trey said that not having chapstick left many, including him, desperate enough to try alternative products that were provided.
“There was lotion, there was conditioner, and those were the first two tries,” he recalled. “And after I tried those and they weren’t working, I was like, ‘Well, that’s all of our options, because obviously we’re not going to use the condoms.’ And within a day, maybe a day and a half, all the condoms were gone. It was absurd. And it still didn’t work!”
While he said that he he didn’t attempt to use the condom’s lubrication, he remembered that others “kept trying it and it didn’t work”. “And I was like, ‘Obviously!’,” he added. “So yeah, that’s 100 per cent true.”
Eventually, producers provided players with individual tins of lip balm labelled with their numbers.
Squid Game: The Challenge is streaming now on Netflix. The season finale will be released on Wednesday (6 December).
