A contestant from Squid Game: The Challenge has revealed how much they were paid to appear on the show.
The hit Netflix series – which focuses on 456 contestants all risking their lives to win millions – was turned into a real-life competition by the streaming service this year.
More than 100,000 applicants applied to take part in the series after they learned the cash prize would be $4.56 million (£3.63 million), with the grand finale just days away.
Mow contestant Radhika Srinivasan has revealed that only the winner made any cash.
Asked directly by a fan on TikTok what her fee was, she revealed: ‘Zero. Zero GBP, zero USD, zero rupees, zero Yuan, zero Pesos. Zero. Literally zero!
‘It was all or nothing and we were really in there acting like that for nothing because the stakes were so high., it was $4.65 million.’
The Milton Keynes native – who was contestant 352 – was eventually eliminated in the warship round when her team’s boat was sank.
Radhika said the company paid for travel expenses of all participants.
She added: ‘But what I will tell you is that the production covered all of the transport, that literally is all the international flights to come into London.
‘I don’t live too far from London but they organised a taxi, a train and literally anything you could need for getting to the location and also getting back home.
‘So, yeah, we went in there with the clothes they gave us, a bum bag full of toiletries and essentials.
‘Toothbrush, toothpaste, I had my contact lenses. That’s all I needed. And we left with group trauma, I guess.
‘I’m just joking, we left with so many crazy, extreme abstract memories.
‘I think that’s the best way to put it but it was such a wild experience, and I would not take it back for the world! Would I do it again for free? One hundred per cent.’
Hundreds were eliminated in the first round and then stayed in bunkbeds at the studios, just like in the Korean series.
Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of unscripted and documentary series, previously said of the reality programme: ‘Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] captivating story and iconic imagery.
In a trailer released on Friday ahead of next week’s finale, the three remaining hopefuls, numbers 016, 287, and 451, will take on the last challenge.
The clip opens as one contestant says: ‘We’ve come so far to get here and now… this is it.’
Someone else explains: ‘It’s like a pack of wolves trying to get the last piece of meat!’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
