GENIUS GAME: MEET THE PLAYERS TAKING ON ITV's NEW REALITY COMPETITION WITH DAVID TENNANT

BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning actor David Tennant is inviting the country’s most brilliant minds to take part in the ultimate TV challenge.

Genius Game is a brand-new reality game show that will see strategically minded players, chosen not just for their high intellectual prowess but also their social IQ, face the ultimate battle of survival.

To win, contestants will participate in a host of never-before-seen games all designed to not only test their intellectual acumen, but also to encourage them to carefully and creatively use the art of manipulation to outfox their opponents and win a cash prize.

Viewers will see David take on the role of The Creator in the series, which originates from South Korea, and guide players as they attempt to navigate each uniquely crafted challenge. Who has what it takes to deceive, collude, and outsmart their opponents to become the first UK winner of Genius Game?

THE PLAYERS

Scott ‘The Scientist’

Age: 30

Occupation: Forensic Scientist 

Region: Currently living in Tanworth, originally from Coatbridge in Scotland

"My gameplan was to focus on controlling the game, controlling the strategy, controlling the narrative whilst being aware of the massive target I was putting on my back."

Bodalia ‘The DJ’

Age: 29 

Occupation: DJ and Doctor 

Region: Birmingham 

My goal is to get on everyone's side and have people on my side to get intel, tips, strategy, and gain trust so they take me on the journey with them.  But you can’t predict interpersonal relationships in anything because you can’t trust anyone!  

Charlotte ‘The Chemist’

Age: 23

Occupation: PHD student 

Region: London

"You have to interpret how your opponents are, what they’re thinking, what their understanding of the game is, and then how you can use that against them!"

India ‘The Student’

Age: 21

Occupation: Student

Region: Salisbury 

"You want to come across as a strong contestant.  You don’t want people to perceive you as weak and guess that you might not be so confident.  I tried to push this false sense of confidence.  As a poker player, even though I play for low stakes and for fun, I wanted to be vague about it and hope that people thought my poker skills were more advanced than they are! "

Bhasha ‘The Doctor’

Age: 28

Occupation: Doctor (GP) 

Region: North London (originally from the Midlands) 

"I’d just finished an intense exam as part of my GP training.  I’d found out I’d passed and I was feeling quite lucky I guess, so I applied for Genius Game.  I thought if I could pass this exam, that was really going to be difficult, I could do anything."

Ken ‘The Comedian’

Age: 35

Occupation: Comedian and Poker Player 

Region: London 

"When playing the game, the main thing is to prioritise your mental energy, prioritise staying calm and not over exerting yourself.  It's a survival game, you have to survive and that includes being on top form."

Amanfi ‘The Coach’

Age: 23

Occupation: Business Graduate 

Region: South London 

"I can read people but I was in a room with other geniuses.  Sometimes I may have mistaken what people were thinking.  All of them were really nice, charismatic people but I was surprised by the majority of people in the game - sometimes for the best but sometimes for the worst!"

Bex ‘The Entrepreneur’

Age: 37

Occupation: Managing Director for own business

Region: Hunderfield 

"I relied on under estimation. I wanted the other contestants to not think of me as too much of a threat.  I worked out who I thought was the cleverest and became their bestie, and aimed to play the game from a personal level.   I think that’s what the Genius Game wanted to portray, what makes a genius?   Is it someone who is academically clever or who can use their skills at reading people and manipulation to their advantage?"

Ben ‘The Professor’

Age: 36 

Occupation: Associate Professor, University of Sussex 

Region: Brighton 

"If I get eliminated early not only does it end this dream, I also felt it would call my competence and my professional standing into question. I'm an associate professor who teaches negotiations and I worried, ‘What if I fail in spectacular fashion?’ I just felt I had so much more to lose than anyone else.  I think that luck plays a huge role in these things, there's only so much you can control. "

Alison ‘The Author’

Age: 57 

Occupation: Crime Writer 

Region: East of England

"I love tackling things in my head all of the time.  I make puzzles in my daily life.  From counting ceiling tiles in a waiting room, to how many people walk past a door per minute. I could even be counting two things at the same time.  My brain is always ticking."

Paul ‘The Businessman’

Age: 58

Occupation: Retired Global Sales Director

Region: Newcastle  

"I realised quite quickly that it wasn’t just playing a game, but that it was also very important to be able to build alliances and be prepared to break them when necessary. I also realised that there were going to be some super smart people playing. Not necessarily smarter than me but almost certainly sharper!"

Genius Game begins this April on ITV1 and ITVX.