Netflix Squid Game contestants threaten to sue over ‘hypothermia’
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Contestants from Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge are threatening to sue its producers after allegedly suffering from hypothermia and sustaining nerve damage during filming.
The competition series is based on the 2021 Korean drama, which featured a plot in which 456 ordinary people compete for a life-changing sum of prize money, with deadly consequences for those who failed to progress to the next round.
The spin-off show, which premiered on Wednesday, involved the same number of real-life contestants, who competed for $4.56 million (£3.64 million) cash prizes – the largest-single prize in game-show history.
However, unlike their fictional counterparts, these players did not have to worry about risking their own lives.
Yet lawyers representing two unnamed contestants said they suffered injuries because of the freezing temperatures, including hypothermia and nerve damage.
The claimants are understood to have been filming the first round of the competition – “Red Light, Green Light” – at Cardington Studios, a former RAF base in Bradford, when they were injured.
Players sought to reach a finish line before a timer ran out while stopping and remaining motionless when a “red-light” call was voiced by a large robotic doll.
However, law firm Express Solicitors said its clients were injured after “spending time being stuck in painful stress positions in cold temperatures”.
It has sent letters of claim to the show’s producers, Studio Lambert.
One claimant also reported being given ill-fitting clothing for the challenge, despite temperatures reportedly dropping as low as -3C.
Daniel Slade, chief executive of Express Solicitors, claimed some of the injuries could have “long-term health implications”.
He said: “We recognise people may see this as a classic ‘David and Goliath’ battle with the company and its production partners.
“Contestants thought they were taking part in something fun and those injured did not expect to suffer as they did.
“Now they have been left with injuries after spending time being stuck in painful stress positions in cold temperatures.”
Mr Slade added: “One client describes seeing someone faint, then people shouting for medics.
“We have a case where someone complains of hypothermia. One had his hands turn purple from the cold.
“Such injuries can have very serious long-term health implications.”
‘Left in tears’
Earlier this year, one contestant told The Sun how some struggled to cope with the temperatures.
They told the newspaper: “Even if hypothermia kicked in then people were willing to stay for as long as possible because a lot of money was on the line. Too many were determined not to move so they stood there for far too long.
“There were people arriving thinking they were going to be millionaires but they left in tears.”
Netflix confirmed three out of 456 contestants received medical treatment during filming, but said “claims of serious injury are untrue”.
Britain’s Health and Safety Executive went on to review processes on the show before deciding to take no further action .
However, it did stress the importance of planning properly for “any risks in future filming”.
A spokesperson for Studio Lambert and The Garden, another producer of the show, said: “No lawsuit has been filed by any of the Squid Game contestants.
“We take the welfare of our contestants extremely seriously.”
A statement given previously by Netflix on behalf of the streaming platform, Studio Lambert and The Garden, read: “We care deeply about the health and safety of our cast and crew, and invested in all the appropriate safety procedures.
“While it was very cold on set – and participants were prepared for that – any claims of serious injury are untrue.”
