From the Tower Of London to reality TV

Comedian Tom Houghton is to be a contestant on the next series of Netflix reality show The Circle.

The streaming service is making much of the fact that the stand-up has lived in the Tower Of London, as  the son of General Sir Nicholas Houghton, a former Chief of the Defence Staff.

Its Twitter account trilled: ‘Meet Tom! This cheeky chap traded living in the Tower of London for a spot on the The Circle’

meet Tom! This cheeky chap traded living in the Tower of London for a spot on the The Circle.  (no, seriously… he lives in the Tower of London). pic.twitter.com/aNNaoqv3CF

— The Circle on Netflix (@CircleNetflix) December 9, 2022

After the announcement, Houghton said: ‘I’m already dying of embarrassment.’

The comedian has found success on social media with videos shot in the landmark, where his father holds the title of Constable of the Tower of London.  One story from his stand-up, about trying to get a pizza delivered to the famous address, attracted more than a million views.

One of his live shows was called The Honourable Tom Houghton, a title that he can use via his father, but he has joked: ‘How honourable can I be? I drank from a puddle once on my way home I was so famished of water."

He has also spoken of not following the family military tradition, explaining: ’I realised I wanted to be a performer when I was age five or six and I was performing Cats The Musical on the stairs, in a full leotard, dancing in front of my dad and his fellow army officers belting out Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat. He looked at my mum and said, probably not for the front line this one.’

In the show, players all live in the same block of flats but do not meet face-to-face, only online, so they can play as themselves or via a fake profile.  Players vote each other out until the winner takes home the top prize $150,000.

The Circle ran for three series on Channel 4, with Netflix making a US version since 2020 under host Michelle Buteau.

Also taking part in the new fifth  series, kicking off on December 28, are Billy-Jean Blackett, a model and Flex FM radio presenter from London; Raven Sutton, a disability advocate and the show’s first deaf contestant; Greek moderl Xanthi Perdikomatis; Brett Robinson from the US Big Brother; Nigerian born chemical engineer and gym enthusiast Marvin Achi;  Chaz Lawery, who runs a car valet service in Philadelphia, and social media creators Oliver TwiXt, Brian Clark, Sam Carmona and Tasia Lesley.

Published: 10 Dec 2022