An Isle of Wight woman who took part in Squid Game: The Challenge, has revealed just how difficult the hit Netflix reality show really was.

Gemma Mcguire, from Ventnor, told the County Press it was “an incredible experience, but really, really hard” and not as it appeared on TV.

As player 113, the 34-year-old said she spent more than nine hours competing in Red Light, Green Light — a game which sees players faced with a giant doll.

Every time the doll sings, the participant can move. When it stops, players must freeze. If they so much as flinch, they will be shot with a paint gun and will exit the competition.

Read more: Isle of Wight salon owner wins Best Hairstylist of the Year 2022

Gemma said for viewers at home it looked like a five-minute game, but it lasted hours and players had to hold their positions for around 20 to 30 minutes each time.

“It was absolutely freezing, too”, Gemma said.

“I started playing at 1pm and I didn’t cross the finish line until 10.30pm at night.

“Because they say you’re playing for $4.56 million, it’s not going to be as easy as we think it is.”

Gemma, who owns a salon in Shanklin, said she featured on Squid Game by "chance". In 2021, while at home with Covid, she signed up to take part in BBC series, The Traitors.

She flew out to Scotland for a test run on the show, and months after returning home, she received a call out of the blue asking if she wanted to be one of the 456 contestants on Squid Game.

She accepted and was sworn to secrecy. She even had to keep it quiet from her nine-year-old son.

“I was only allowed to start telling people on November 22 when it was released. He said to me ‘you lied to me!’," she said.

“He came home from school and thought I was really cool because I’m on the telly.”

Filming started in January this year and Gemma said players from all over the world were put on strict lockdown in a London hotel.

One morning, at 4am, they were ushered into a coach and taken to a warehouse in Bedford for Red Light, Green Light.

She said: “It was breathtaking. The doll was there. Guards were there. Camera men were running round and drones were flying around. It was quite scary.”

Although she crossed the line, she said she was eliminated from the game afterwards.

“I don’t know whether I may have moved during, and they didn’t pick it up until after", she said.

Despite being knocked out, Gemma said it was still an “incredible experience” and she met the most "incredible people”.

This may not be the last foray into the world of TV for Gemma, either.

She said the production company have asked to keep hold of her details for future shows.

Squid Game: The Challenge is streaming on Netflix now.