The Circle has crowned Paddy Smyth as the winner of its 2019 series.
Reacting to his win, Paddy said in the studio: "I'm in complete shock. I never even thought I'd make it past the first blocking. To come in as a late player and to come in with such insecurities about myself and to know that The Circle accepted me… It's just insane."
Following last night's tense final blocking, Paddy, Georgina, Sammie/James, Tim and Woody all landed a place in tonight's live final (October 18) with a chance to win £100k (£70k going to the most popular player and £30k to the viewers' favourite player).
Related: The Circle's Emma Willis makes Big Brother blunder during live final
With the game reaching its conclusion, it was time for the players to rate each other one last time to determine who was the most popular.
But before revealing the winner, the remaining players finally got to meet each other face-to-face and discover that Sammie has actually been James the entire time.
First to be aquatinted with catfish James was Tim, who had recently grown suspicious of Sammie, but was still stunned to see a male sitting in her place as he entered the room.
Related: Zoe Ball reacts to her son flirting with Richard Madeley on The Circle
As the other players entered, they were all equally shocked to learn that they'd been decisively duped by James for the past few weeks, but things remained friendly between them as they all enjoyed a meal together.
After the players were welcomed to the studio for their live interviews, Emma Willis confirmed that Tim had been voted the viewers' player, meaning he took home the £30k pot.
Emma then announced the results of the players' final ratings, with Woody coming in fifth and Tim and Sammie/James coming joint fourth.
That meant it was between Georgina and Paddy to be crowned the winner of this year's series. And after a brutally long wait, Emma finally announced that the honour had gone to Paddy.
Viewers weren't entirely pleased with the outcome, however, with the vast majority wanting either Tim or Woody to be named the winner.
One person tweeted: "How is Paddy getting 70 grand when Tim, who stole the heart of an entire nation, is getting 30?
While another wrote: "I’m just happy Tim at least won the viewers' vote. Would’ve loved to have seen him or Woody win the overall game. The Circle of trust just ruined it in the end to be honest."
Nevertheless, congratulations are in order for Paddy. Now go and spend that £70k unwisely.
The Circle aired on Channel 4.
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