Barista has taste of fame in Netflix reality game

Alice Foster says competing on Netflix's Squid Game: The Challenge was a "surreal experience"

A coffee shop owner has described competing in Netflix's real-life Squid Game show as the "longest day of her life".

Alice Foster, 29, who owns Coffee Depot on Carholme Road in Lincoln, applied for season two of Squid Game: The Challenge "on a whim" after originally wanting to be on The Traitors.

Fast-forward to January this year, Miss Foster was competing in the reality game spin-off of the South Korean drama with 455 other players battling it out for a £3.66m prize fund.

Despite getting kicked off early, Miss Foster said: "It was just such a crazy, surreal experience."

The fictional show Squid Game was released on Netflix in 2021 and followed players battling it out in a series of traditional Korean children's games to win a cash prize - with the dark twist of losers killed in every round.

The dystopian drama lasted three seasons with its symbolism of bleak messages about capitalism and humanity set against a backdrop of candy-coloured sets, ominous guards in pink boiler suits and a giant singing doll.

Squid Game: The Challenge was then created as a spin-off, reality game, with radio-controlled exploding dye replacing a fatal bullet to symbolise being out of the game.

Squid Game features a giant killer doll that swivels her neck during a game to spot players moving as they try to cross the line

Unfortunately for Miss Foster, her bid for victory was cut short as she was knocked out in the first 15 minutes along with 200 other competitors.

They lost in the first round when a representative of her group had to count to 456 as part of the game.

She said: "It was absolute carnage, I'm sure there were physical fights breaking out.

"Everyone was screaming trying to get people to be quiet but it was just adding to the noise."

Despite her brief stint on the show, Miss Foster said she had endured a 10-hour day of filming in London.

Speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, she said: "For me it was the longest day of my life, I was up at 05:00 GMT and back in the evening.

"I used to be a chef but standing there all day took it out of me."

Miss Foster said the set was "very immersive" with "no clocks and the cameras were really hidden".

"It really felt like you were there," she added.

The mix of bright white lighting, ink pack explosives strapped to your chest, and being in a room full of hundreds of people was what made for an overwhelming experience, Miss Foster explained.

Miss Foster, who owns Coffee Depot with her fiancée Harry Weatherill, said she was "absolutely gutted" to get out on the first round but said it was the "coolest experience".

"If I had won the money I probably would have bought a lovely holiday home somewhere for family to go whenever they want and the rest on my coffee shop."

Season two of Squid Game: The Challenge landed on Netflix on 4 November.

Alice Foster runs Coffee Depot on Carholme Road in Lincoln with her fiancée

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