Contestants in Netflix’s real-life Squid Game ‘suffered hypothermia and nerve damage after being stuck in painful stress positions in freezing temperatures for hours’ during filming

Contestants in Netflix’s real-life Squid Game are said to have ‘suffered hypothermia and nerve damage’ because of the show.

Express Solicitors said two of its clients who were on the show ‘suffered injuries including hypothermia and nerve damage… after spending hours in painful stress positions in freezing temperatures’.

Daniel Slade, boss of Express Solicitors, said: ‘The participants thought they were taking part in something fun and the injured did not expect to suffer so much.

‘Now they have suffered injuries after being in painful stress positions for a while in low temperatures.

‘We have a case where someone complains of hypothermia. One of his hands turned purple from the cold.’

Express Solicitors said two of its clients who were on the show ‘suffered injuries including hypothermia and nerve damage… after spending hours in painful stress positions in freezing temperatures’

The company said the injuries occurred when participants were “required to remain motionless in low temperatures for hours during filming.”

It added that it had sent letters of claim to Studio Lambert, meaning the production company is aware they could be taken to court.

Studio Lambert boss Stephen Lambert previously said: ‘Everyone had been told it was going to be tough.’

Last week, Mr Lambert told BBC News he took player welfare ‘terribly seriously’.

He said: ‘Everyone was warned that it was going to be cold, we took all necessary measures to prepare them for it.’

A spokesperson for Squid Game: The Challenge said: ‘No legal action has been filed by any of the Squid Game participants. We take the well-being of our participants very seriously.’

MailOnline has contacted Express Solicitors and Netflix for comment.

A total of 456 players, the same as in the original series, took part in an attempt to win the huge prize money of £3.63 million.

Competitors were flown in from the United States and Australia for the show, which was filmed at Cardington Studios, a former RAF base near Bedford.

Hundreds were eliminated in the first round and then stayed in bunk beds in the studios, just like in the Korean series.

In the original series, hundreds of cash-strapped contestants accept an invitation to compete in children’s games for a tempting prize, but the stakes are deadly.

Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of unscripted and documentary series, previously said of the upcoming reality show: “Squid Game took the world by storm with [director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s] captivating story and iconic images.

The reality series will consist of 10 episodes, which is one more than the original dramatic series

Express Solicitors boss Daniel Slade said: ‘The participants thought they were taking part in something fun and the injured did not expect to suffer so much.’

“We are grateful for his support as we make the fictional world a reality in this massive competitive and social experiment.

“Fans of the drama series are in for a fascinating and unpredictable journey as our 456 real-world contestants navigate the biggest ever competition series, full of thrills and twists, with the biggest cash prize ever at the end.”

The reality series will consist of ten episodes – one more than the original thriller.

The TV production company behind the show Studio Lambert was previously accused of allowing “inhumane” working conditions and faced allegations of mistreatment of staff on previous reality shows.

Some of those who worked on the popular Gogglebox series described a toxic culture in which staff worked excessive hours and were expected to carry on without breaks.

The BECTU union, which represents film production workers, received complaints from staff about the way they were treated.

One employee told the union: “People have had enough. You don’t show up 12 hours a day to be yelled at.”

Bectu said they had urgently requested a meeting with the company behind many contestant-led shows including BBC show ‘Traitors’ and ‘Race across the world’.

Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched show of 2021, attracting 142 million people in its first month – almost double Bridgerton’s previous record.

The Korean drama is also credited with adding 4.4 million new subscribers, increasing Netflix’s global subscriptions from 209 million to 213.5 million.

It boosted the company’s profits to £1.1 billion – almost double the amount it raked in in the third quarter of 2020.