Squid Game Meets Real Life as Game Show Contestant Hacks Rules to Crush Rival

Published Sep 8, 2026, 7:53 PM EDT Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words. Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II. Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno. A viral reality game show moment is currently dominating the UK, as a savvy contestant hacks the rules in a triumphant act of mutually assured destruction that would be at home in Netflix's Squid Game. The show in question is Channel 4's Four In a Bed, which sees four sets of bed and breakfast owners visit each other's businesses, competing to be judged the best by the group at large. The cult show is famous for provoking arguments, as contestants take offense at feedback from their rivals. However, the latest set of episodes have produced the most viral moments in the show's history, delivering an unprecedented outcome despite being on the air for sixteen years. "I Cheated": UK Reality Show Delivers Viral Moment In the most recent episodes of Four In a Bed, contestant Saban Demirbasa butted heads with glamping business owners Ami and Mark Culver. Having decided that the pair were unfairly penalizing other contestants to win the competition, Demirbasa sacrificed his own chance at victory to bring them down. There is no way I can allow you two to win... After all four businesses have been featured, the game resolves on Payment Day, where the players state how much they'd be willing to pay for each room. The intent is that the contestants pick what they feel is a fair amount, underpaying if they feel their competitors' B&Bs weren't good enough. In a shocking move, Demirbasa didn't just underpay the Culvers, but overpaid other contestants Mark and Anne Ezekiel by £220 (approx $300.) Since the show's logic is built around relatively small underpayments, the huge overpayment guaranteed the Ezekiels' victory, with Demirbasa claiming that the Ezekiels earned the overpayment before turning to the Culvers and stating, "The other reason is, there is no way I can allow you two to win." Demirbasa also had a rivalry with contestant Emma-Louise Simms, refusing to accept her underpayment for his hotel (and thus setting his score from her to £0.) The moment culminated in a row between the players, with a post-episode interview seeing Demirbasa explain, "The way I see it, I cheated to stop the other cheaters winning." The moment has made headlines across the UK, with a largely favorable reaction to Demirbasa's tactics. 'Four in a Bed' Viral Moment Was Almost More Extreme While Demirbasa's strategic move shocked viewers, it was almost even more extreme. Following an exclusive interview with Demirbasa, Lad Bible has reported that Demirbasa intended to overpay by £500 (approx $680), but was talked down by Channel 4 producers. According to Lad Bible, overpayments on the show come from contestants' own funds, meaning that Demirbasa sacrificed hundreds of his own money - and attempted to sacrifice twice as much - just to spite his fellow competitors while also knocking himself out of contention. New Viral Moment Joins Another Famous Favorite Reports of the viral 'Four In a Bed' moment have invariably compared it to a viral moment from the similar reality game show 'Come Dine With Me.' In that show, contestants host each other for a meal, scoring the overall experience at the end of the night. Like 'Four In a Bed,' 'Come Dine With Me' is known for sparking disagreements between contestants, most famously in 2016, when contestant Peter Marsh was shocked to find himself in last place. Marsh's resulting speech dressing down his fellow contestants went viral, ending with him kicking them and the show's production company out of his house, stating: You won, Jane. Enjoy the money, I hope it makes you very happy. ... Dear lord, what a sad little life, Jane. You ruined my night completely so you could have the money, but I hope now you spend it on getting some lessons in grace and decorum, because you have all the grace of a reversing dumptruck without any tires on. ... Take your money and get off my property. Few moments UK TV moment have gone as viral as Marsh's speech, but it's finally been equaled by Demirbasa's Squid Game-style tactics, made all the more impactful by actually deciding the outcome of the reality contest. You can watch Four In a Bed on Tubi TV, the Roku Channel and Philo in the US.