TikTok users will already know the name Eric Roberts very well.
One of Ireland’s prominent influencers, he has found huge success this year after stepping away from his job as a special needs assistant to pursue content creation full-time.
The Co. Donegal native can now can finally break his silence on participating in Netflix’s new reality series with a multi-million jackpot: ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’.
Goss.ie broke the news last week, after spotting the Irish social star in the Netflix released trailer.
Squid Games: The Challenge is tipped to be the biggest reality show of all time. With nearly 5 million dollars on the line, Eric and 455 others will be pushed to their limits.
The show landed on Netflix dropping the first five episodes, with more to follow in the weeks to come.
The show was filmed in January in London and Netflix spared no expense with mind-blowing sets and a totally immersive experience.
Game one was the famous red light green light challenge, where half of the total contestants will immediately be knocked out.
Eric is one of only two contestants from the Republic of Ireland to make the cut, as they compete against the rest of the world.
The other contestant is Kildare native Mike Bowe.
The 35 year old who currently resides in Belfast, is a full time carer, and father of five children, four of which have special needs.
Keen to “fake it ’til he makes it”, Bowe is striving to be the most reliable player in the field.
According to himself, countless trips to Disneyland are on the line, and he will playing to win.
Due to agreements with Netflix, Eric had to keep his involvement a secret all year, telling only some close friends and family. With a loyal following online of over 800,000, Eric knew the word would spread fast if the news broke.
Now that the first five episodes have dropped, Eric says:
“It’s amazing to be able to finally speak about this! After having to keep such an incredible and totally one-in-a-million experience to myself for so long. They took our phones away when we got to London and I went ghost online throughout the filming period. I had so many messages when I finally got my phone back, wondering what had happened, but I couldn’t tell anyone where I was”.
The Donegal man known for his impeccable quick wit online continues:
“As incredible as the experience was, as you can expect from a reality reenactment of the iconic Squid Games series, we were pushed to our absolute limits. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The hunger and lack of sleep was horrible, and when you mix that with having to play these high pressure games it was a real physical and mental battle. I was chosen to face some of the most difficult challenges in the games, luck was against me! But I made sure I wasn’t going to be eliminated because of bad luck. It‘s safe to say most people will never experience anything like this in their life“.
Eric himself today announced the news on his own social media channels saying:
Speaking about how far he gets in the series, Eric isn’t able to say much, due to NDA agreements made with Netflix. However all he is able to say is that he is “very proud about how far I got. Let’s just say I represent Ireland very well“.
Five episodes of the new reality series dropped on Netflix Ireland today, with four then following next week and the final episode the week after.
You can follow Instagram at @eric.roberts__ and TikTok @ericroberts44
Eric Roberts worked as an SNA in Donegal for years and loved working with children. He started posting online during the pandemic and found a new love, which was posting content.
Eric made the hugely difficult decision to leave his SNA role earlier this year, as his ‘influencer’ work was taking off so much and he has gained hundreds of thousands of followers online. It came to the point he was forced to make a decision to pursue social content full time.
Now boasting 800,000 followers, Eric has also recently moved into media presenting with regular slots on Ireland am and other media brands such as LadBible Ireland. Much loved for his hilarious personality, quick Donegal wit and down to earth nature, Eric often shows transparent family life, which people love.
And he is known for how relatable he is. Soaring social media fame has never gone to his head and he promised now fast-approaching new Netflix fame won’t either.
