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Paddy Smyth became the winner of Channel 4's The Circle last night in a final that saw the dark horse take home the prize.

With his £70,000 prize money, Paddy said said he wants to bedazzle his crutches, which he walks with because he has cerebral palsy in his legs.

Other than that, he is going to throw a party with his family and friends to celebrate.

Paddy shared what it is really like in the apartment block, and explained that what looks like short conversations over the chat system are much lengthier as the producers help the players craft their messages in the most concise and articulate way.

(Image: Channel 4)

He revealed that the contestants actually speak to the producers all through the day and discuss their feelings, and the producers will sometimes give them tips to explain themselves better - but they don't actually see the producers face to face.

"It's a game of isolation", he said.

(Image: Channel 4)

He added that there is a huge welfare team who check on the players regularly, and ensure they do some daily activities and get fresh air away from playing the game.

Players get to plan with the producers in the morning which conversations they will have with other players so this can be set up on the chat system.

Paddy said he did not expect to win at all, and doesn't think any of the viewers did either.

(Image: PA)

He noted that he never even placed top three in the player ratings during the whole series.

He said his "emotional" time on the show allowed him to work through his insecurities.

(Image: Channel 4)

Paddy explained that the show appealed to him because "I had never had the opportunity to hide my vulnerability or my disability."

He was interested in living a life for a while where no one was aware of his disability, as sometimes he wishes he didn't have it.

(Image: Channel 4)

But Paddy says he would be "hiding a huge part of [his] life" if he did not love it as part of who he is.

He urged people with disabilities to accept themselves: "You are who you are.

"You're not meant to change that."

(Image: PA)

Paddy said he will stay in touch with the other players, particularly with Georgina, who he bonded with when they shared their stories (Georgina has Chrohn's disease and had a stoma bag).

Something which will amuse viewers to know is Paddy still refers to James as "Sammie", as he was so convinced by the catfish character.

(Image: Channel 4) (Image: Channel 4)

James was pretending to be single mum Sammie for the entirety of the show, and his true identity was only revealed in the show's finale.

He holds no resentment towards James, because "the person behind the catfish was genuine".

He was, however, completely shocked when he realised Sammie's true identity, and exclaimed: "My heart fell out my a***e!"

Instead, Paddy suspected that Tim was a catfish because of his flamboyant way of speaking.

Paddy said the show was more of a personal journey than he expected, and it forced him to deal with the insecurities regarding his disabilities that he didn't know he had.

He said he also learnt never to judge a book by it cover.

Returning back to normal life, Paddy will miss the instant response to food and drink requests, but he is happy to have his independence back.

In the future, he hopes to get into more disabled activism as well as TV presenting - plus he wants to star in his own travel show with Tim.

Watch this space!