Big Brother’s Glyn Wise Reveals Secrets of Netflix’s Squid Games: The Challenge

It’s been two decades since Glyn Wise first burst into the limelight as the runner-up of Big Brother 7.

Since then, plenty of changed for the 37-year-old former lifeguard, who this year became an ordained reverend. 

Yet one thing has remained – Glyn’s love of reality TV – so this year he took a leap and applied for Netflix’s toughest show – Squid Games: The Challenge. 

The series, which launched last year, tasks 456 players from around the world with taking part in games based on hit Korean series Squid Game, in a chance to take home an eye-watering $4.56 million (£3.6m) prize pot. 

As a fan of both programmes I was keen to meet Glyn, so despite my aversion to any kind of gruelling physical activity, I signed up to compete against him on Squid Game: The Experience, an immersive event in London designed to replicate the hit show. 

I needn’t have worried about the day because Glyn – who was player 36 on the Netflix series – was the perfect star to accompany me through the experience, which saw us take on challenges such as marbles, a blind tug-of-war and the famous Red Light, Green Light. 

Admittedly, with the immersive experience being aimed at children, it wasn’t as tough as the reality show – which has seen past contestants hospitalised with injuries sustained while filming. 

So I had to ask, with past contestants considering legal action against Netflix because of their experience, is it really as tough as it seems? 

‘They didn’t show this on the series, but a lot of people walked out because they couldn’t cope with the pressure,’ Glyn admitted.  

‘We weren’t allowed anything, not even pyjamas, we had to sleep in our tracksuits. All we were allowed was Vaseline for our lips, a hairbrush and a toothbrush.

‘There were 456 of us using communal bathrooms and communal showers and it was so full-on when we were in there that everybody’s anxiety was so high.’ 

Glyn explained that one of the biggest challenges on the show wasn’t doing the tasks itself but the length of time it took in the buildup.  

‘Every game was in a different location to the dorm so we had to be taken on buses,’ he revealed. 

‘There was a lot of waiting around and it would be a full day of filming. It looks like it’s just one day on the show but by the time we’d filmed the second challenge we had all been there for a week!  

‘We were all so drained and we couldn’t sleep much because we’d have to wait for the bright lights in the dorm to be turned off.’

Glyn revealed that contestants were forced to detox before appearing on the show, with producers ensuring they didn’t consume any sugar or salt for three days before filming began to prepare them for the very plain meals they’d be given. 

He explained: ‘This is why you see so many people crying in there, you’ve been stripped of all your energy and it’s high intensity, so there’s a lot of arguing!’ 

Last year, two participants were reportedly kicked off the show before filming even began after breaking production rules by having sex in the hotel they were put in. 

Yet Glyn revealed that producers were better prepared this time around, handing out condoms to the participants in the dorm room. 

While he insisted that nobody used them, he admitted that he did see people ‘falling in love’ as they bonded amid the gruelling on-set conditions. 

‘If I’m honest with you, it took me a lot longer to get over Squid Games than it did with Big Brother,’ Glyn confessed. 

‘I know it was only a week compared to three months in the BB house but for a lot of people it had a profound effect on them. 

‘Some contestants even came out and filed for a divorce! I think it’s because you just had so much time to think in there. 

‘People were questioning what they were doing with their lives, so you didn’t even have to win the £3.7 million prize to change your life.’ 

In fact, most contestants lost money by appearing on the show, as Glyn revealed Netflix didn’t offer any payment to the 456 contestants, other than reimbursing their travel costs. 

In comparison, Glyn revealed he was paid £30 a day when he appeared on Big Brother in 2006 – roughly £50 at today’s rate when adjusted for inflation.  

‘At the time I was earning £5.50 an hour as a lifeguard so it was like six hours of work for me being in the Big Brother house, it was a lot of cash!’ he shared.

‘Whereas on Squid Games, a lot of people had quit their jobs in order to take the three weeks off we needed for filming – and then half of them got eliminated on the first day! It was just pot luck. 

‘I thought Squid Games would be child’s play compared to Big Brother. But in Big Brother I would maneuver my way around, understand people, read the room when nominations were happening, but with Squid Games you could be eliminated at any time.’

Glyn still has fond memories of his time in Big Brother.

The 2006 series was hosted by Davina McCall and featured an array of famous housemates including Imogen Thomas, Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace and the late Nikki Grahame. 

It was the third most watched in history with an average of 4.7 million viewers, and was ultimately won by Pete Bennett.

‘Me and Pete still have an annual meet up,’ Glyn revealed. ‘There’s something about Big Brother people… it sounds bizarre but we are still a family. 

‘It was so intense being together 24/7 that I know random things about Pete that nobody else would. It’s always brilliant to be around the Big Brother people.

‘I’m still in a group with Richard Newman and Lea Walker and I’ll speak to Imogen on the phone to see how she’s doing.’

Tragically, Glyn’s friend and fellow housemate Nikki died aged 38 in 2021 after a 30-year battle with anorexia, so he prays to her. 

Glyn explained: ‘I always feel like Nicky’s around and I speak to her. I told her I was going on Squid Games and said she could come in with me if she’d like but I know she would’ve hated it. 

‘Being cooped up like a chicken, with the aircon doing her head in, she wouldn’t have enjoyed it!’ 

In the 19 years since Big Brother aired, Glyn has experienced many things, first giving up his job as a lifeguard to focus on TV and radio work before training as a teacher. 

Glyn was a tutor at Cardiff University before moving to Shanghai to take sports, English and Spanish.

The Welsh native, who previously told how he ‘prayed his way onto Big Brother’ has been a Christian since birth, and in June this year he was ordained as a reverend. 

‘I never thought this was going to happen in 2006!’ Glyn confessed. ‘I’ve moved into a little vicarage and I do funerals, weddings, baptisms, I run youth clubs…’

Glyn revealed that he had incorporated Squid Games into his sermons, noting: ‘There’s a lot of emphasis on money in the show, and if you look in the Bible there’s over 2,300 quotes about what our relationship with money should be.

‘And when the piggy bank comes down on the show it’s a bit like the golden calf in the book of Exodus.’

He added that reading the eulogies during funerals also inspired him to apply for the series because it made him realise how little time we have. 

Glyn shared: ‘We’re living in the present and I think we should just enjoy it. If you’re not happy, do something about it.

‘I know it’s easy for me to say because it’s part of my job to go around and help others, but I believe if you just love God, and you see God and His love in everything, and you treat people the way you want to be treated, you’re on a high.’

Squid Game: The Experience is held at Immerse LDN at the ExCel centre. For more information visit https://squidgameexperienceuk.com/