21-05-2025
EXCLUSIVE How David Tennant's answer to The Traitors became a huge flop for ITV - as Genius Game contestant lifts the lid on new series
Pitched as ITV 's brainy answer to The Traitors, The Genius Game - hosted by actor David Tennant - promised high-stakes mental battles and compelling drama.
Based on a cult South Korean format, eleven 'geniuses' compete in logic puzzles and mind games to avoid daily elimination.
Think Big Brother meets Squid Game, but with poker faces and maths problems.
Yet despite a hefty £2.5 million budget, it has been a disaster for ITV and become one of the network's biggest ratings flops in years.
The prime-time reality show launched with 1.2 million viewers, but by episode two that had already dropped to 846,000.
Then ratings sank even lower to a meagre 739,000, prompting ITV to quietly cut the show's schedule from airing twice a week to only once.
The Mail spoke exclusively to 25-year-old PhD student and competitive gamer Charlotte Yeung, one of the show's contestants, who shared what really went on - from white noise isolation and late-night meals to a mysteriously absent host
Despite sleek visuals, serious strategy and the big-name pull of David Tennant, The Genius Game failed to connect.
Viewers found its sterile atmosphere, vague format and lack of real drama hard to follow - or care about. So what actually happened behind the scenes?
The Mail spoke exclusively to 25-year-old PhD student and competitive gamer Charlotte Yeung, one of the show's contestants, who shared what really went on - from white noise isolation and late-night meals to a mysteriously absent host.
1. David Tennant? More like Doctor Who
He's billed as 'the creator', appears godlike on screen and delivers booming instructions from a big TV - but unlike The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman, the Doctor Who star never came near the cast.
'We never actually met him,' Charlotte said. 'He filmed the week before us... he's the person that appears on screen to explain the games we're playing. He's just kind of the host.'
2. White noise and locked-in silence
Contestants weren't just banned from chatting off camera - they were made to sit in silence with noise-cancelling headphones blasting white noise.
'Any time we weren't being filmed, we had to go "on ice",' Charlotte admitted. 'It was very physically draining... people had headaches. We weren't allowed any off-camera interactions - they wanted everything captured.'
3. Dinner? Only if they remembered
The meals themselves weren't exactly gourmet. Charlotte recalled takeaway-style food being served, usually with one vegetarian and one meat option, plus dessert.
Dinner was always served between the main match and the death match, but the timing wasn't always reliable. Food was basic and sometimes overlooked altogether.
'On a rest day, I placed my order for food but forgot about it, and by 10pm I realised they also forgot to give me food,' Charlotte said.
While the delivery sometimes didn't arrive on time, contestants were looked after in other ways, like having their own dressing rooms and fridges stocked with snacks and drinks they'd pre-selected before arriving.
4. The 'Watchers' were always watching
Filmed on a studio set in Maidstone, Kent, the mind games didn't end when the cameras stopped rolling. Each night, contestants were shuttled to the nearby Delta Hotel by Marriott Tudor Park Country Club - but even there, the game's strict rules of isolation were firmly in place. It meant that there was no late-night whispers and no secret pacts.
'There were two corridors the contestants were based on, and at the end of each one was a watcher to make sure nobody was knocking on other doors or having conversations,' said Charlotte. These silent guards were stationed day and night, there to keep players apart.
'On our rest days, watchers were there the whole day,' Charlotte explained. 'If we needed help, they'd help - but mainly they were making sure no one was knocking on doors or talking.'
One evening, Charlotte opened her door to ask for help. 'They were super helpful and got one of the hotel staff for me. But it definitely reminded you - someone was always there.'
5. Gruelling days on set
'Our filming days were approximately... I would go in at around 9am and we'd finish around 10 or 11. It's 12 hours,' Charlotte said.
Each contestant was transported separately to avoid off-camera bonding: 'We were in different cars... we weren't allowed to speak that much.'
6. Not all players were what they seemed
While 11 contestants appeared on screen at the start of the series, Charlotte said not everyone was totally upfront about what they did.
'I didn't lie about my occupation or anything, and I only mentioned my role in games a few episodes in. But there were definitely some contestants who did hide what their actual occupations were, or, I guess you could say, someone had two jobs and they only said one of them, and it turns out that the other one was clearly more threatening. I only realised that very late down the line.'
7. Dressed to Impress
While the show didn't provide a wardrobe, it did come with its own stylist. Contestants were told to pack clothes that reflected their personal style - but the order they appeared in was strictly curated.
'In the morning we had a stylist visit us,' said Charlotte. 'They chose what order our clothes would come in for the episodes. We also had makeup artists each morning.'
8. Getting cast was its own game
The application process wasn't for the faint-hearted. Charlotte recalled: 'It was an application, then a phone interview, then a Zoom interview, then an in-person audition. Then you'd either be rejected, accepted, or waitlisted.'
The process began with a questionnaire asking for basic information like your name, occupation, age, where you heard about the show, and any accolades you might have.
Charlotte shared her achievements, including making the Dean's list at university. 'I'm an eSports player,' she said, noting that this was a key part of her pitch. 'I thought maybe I could take the eSports representative slot, like they had in the Korean version.'
The producers were clearly casting for a variety of contestants. 'All the contestants are so different. I think they were trying to get everything - different game backgrounds, ages, genders. I wanted to be the token esports player, but I don't think they focused on that.
'In all the ads I'm just a PhD student, which is fine - because I am just a PhD student - but it would be better if they focused more on the game side of people.
Charlotte added: 'I would want to get more people from different games backgrounds. I think that was slightly where they dropped the ball a little bit. I would love to see a grand master chess player. We did have poker players, so it's not it's not terrible.'
9. Yes, there was therapy
Producers took contestant wellbeing seriously.
'Right after we were accepted, we were put in touch with someone to check we were fit to do the show - mentally fit, and they checked criminal records. After the show we had an exit interview, then another session with a psychologist to check we were okay.'
Contestants were also given a 'social media pack'.
'They showed us what to do in cases of trolling. They recommend you block, or even go private. They were very supportive.'
10. They got paid a measly salary
'We had a salary for the days we were filming,' said Charlotte. 'Travel, food and hotel was paid. If you got cut on the first day, you got paid for that day and sent back. If you stayed, you got paid for all the days.'
And the set itself? Surprisingly luxe.
'We had our own dressing rooms. The actual rooms you see in the episode were very well put together. They filled our fridge with snacks we said we liked before arriving.'
From surveillance-style silence to white noise-induced headaches, The Genius Game may be a mental competition - but it also tested nerves, stamina and patience.
Charlotte put it best: 'It's very fair... but very physically draining.'
Still, she described the experience as 'the best weeks of my life,' saying she'd 'give anything to go back.'
She loved the chance to use all the 'gears in [her] brain' and came away feeling proud and more confident. 'I would recommend it to the whole world,' she said. 'If I could get a job just playing games like that for the rest of my life, I would.'
