A host of Essex stars will be appearing in Channel 4 show The Circle which begins tonight. 

The week-long special will see contestants only communicate with each other online while housed separately in a block of flats.

Presented by The Voice and Big Brother host Emma Willis, The Celebrity Circle will see 12 of the nation’s best loved stars take up residence in the now-famous apartment block in aid of Stand-Up To Cancer.

Battling it out to be crowned the most popular player, the contestants will be split into two camps – those staying true to their identity and those using a catfish profile to play an entirely different celebrity.

Star of stage and screen, Denise Van Outen, 46, is shunning a catfish profile in favour of entering The Celebrity Circle as herself.

Denise, from Basildon, said: “I’m just looking forward to having a nice week on my own.

"It’s going to be like a holiday for me! I’m not doing it to prove anything, I just think it’s really fun.”

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The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks, 32, will be joined by Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, 27. 

They are teaming up to catfish fellow contestants into thinking they’re Countdown mathematician, Rachel Riley, who is from Southend.

Pete said: "We tried to think of someone that is as different as you could get from us. I mean, firstly, she’s intelligent, we’re not.

"She’s a woman, we’re not. She just seems like a really nice person, so that’s going to be quite difficult for me to try and pretend that I’m a nice person,”

Loose Women presenters Kaye Adams, 58, and Nadia Sawalha, 56, are serving up a double helping of entertainment, as they enter The Celebrity Circle under the guise of The Only Way Is Essex icon, Gemma Collins.

“The thing about playing the GC is, she’s a very complex character. I think even people that hate her, love her. Even when she behaves outrageously, it’s funny. How she gets away with the diva-esque persona, I’ll never know. It’s going to be a challenge!” says Sawalha.

The Celebrity Circle for Stand Up To Cancer launches tonight on Channel 4.