Contestant ‘taken out on stretcher’ from Netflix’s Squid Game-based reality show
One player reportedly said a real-life re-enactment of the ‘Red Light, Green Light’ game was ‘like a warzone’ with people leaving ‘in tears’
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Your support makes all the difference.Contestants on Netflix’s real-life version of Squid Game have spoken out about conditions on the set, with several reportedly leaving in tears and one taken out on a stretcher.
The platform is currently filming a game show in the UK based on the smash hit Korean drama, about desperate members of the public taking part in a deadly competition.
Participants in this real-life, non-fatal version are competing for £3.7m, the largest lumpsum jackpot in the history of reality TV.
According to The Sun, contestants spent several hours in freezing temperatures of -3C, with the rules of one game, “Red Light, Green Light”, demanding that players stand completely still.
One player told the publication: “Even if hypothermia kicked in, then people were willing to stay for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line. Too many were determined not to move so they stood there for far too long.
“There were people arriving thinking they were going to be millionaires but they left in tears.”
They added: “It was like a warzone. People were getting carried out by medics but we couldn’t say anything. If you talk then you’re out.
“Some people couldn’t move their feet because it was so cold.
“You could hear someone yell ‘medic’ and the crew would rush on. We ended up standing there for 30 minutes between takes. Some were crawling by the end. At least one was carried out on a stretcher.”
Sources close to production denied this claim, telling The Independent that no one was stretchered off set.
The new show, titled Squid Game: The Challenge, saw Netflix invite 465 members of the public (the same amount as in the drama) to compete for the huge prize.
It is reportedly being filmed at Cardington Studios, a former RAF based in Bedford.
Another contestant told The Sun: “When we got there it was freezing. Everyone was shaking. I don’t think there were any heaters.
“They said that when the doll starts singing we can move forward. When she stops singing, if we moved we were out.
“They gave us two thermals, two socks, a shirt, plimsolls and green tracksuits.
“We each had blood vests under clothes which burst automatically if they catch you moving to make it look like you’ve been shot.”
Netflix told The Independent in a statement on behalf of the platform, Studio Lambert and The Garden: “We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew, and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures.
“While it was very cold on set – and participants were prepared for that – any claims of serious injury are untrue.”
The Independent has contacted Netflix for further comment.