The actor who played Willy Wonka in the failed ‘immersive’ experience in Glasgow has said he was embarrassed by the gig, adding that he has not had the same opportunities as the viral Oompa Loompas.
Parents were left furious when the event in Glasgow closed early and left children in tears when they were given a lollipop instead of a chocolate river last month.
Today, Michael Archibald, 18, who played the lead character in ‘Willy McDuff’, appeared on Good Morning Britain and said he initially applied for the job because he needed money.
He said: ‘For me, this started as a bit of a job search.
‘I live alone and have been separated (from my family) since I was 17.
“I’m currently 18. I said I was going to go out and get a job, make money and move there for the summer, and it was all downhill from there.”
Michael said he thought a job as an actor sounded like fun and he came across Willy Wonka’s experience and was intrigued by the job.
Michael Archibald, who played ‘Willy McDuff’, appeared on Good Morning Britain and said he initially applied for the job because he needed money.
Kirsty Paterson and Jenny Fogarty, the viral Oompa Loompas were also on the show today
Kirsty Paterson, who played the popular orange character, went viral after a photo of her dressed in the cheap-looking costume circulated online.
The event was canceled mid-Saturday when angry mothers, fathers and grandparents demanded refunds.
“There wasn’t even a chocolate bar in sight,” he added.
‘I felt very embarrassed. I was in front of all these people and a lot of people were like, “wow, he’s not that excited,” but it was because I didn’t want to be there in the first place.
The Oompa Loopmas went viral online for their unimpressed facial expressions at the event and their “cheap” looking costumes.
Kirsty Paterson, 30, who played one of the orange characters, admitted the attention from the failed event has given her more opportunities.
She said: ‘For me the media has been incredible, it is opening doors for me that I never thought could be opened. My dream was always to be a children’s presenter and work with charities.
Jenny Fogarty, 25, who played another Oompa Loompa, said the media response has been “hugely positive”.
“It’s crazy, none of us could have expected this result,” he added.
The couple has racked up millions of views on TikTok since revealing that they were, in fact, the two women behind the viral memes.
But Michael, who played the main character in the experience, said he hasn’t received as many opportunities as other actors and actresses.
Families were stunned when they arrived and were greeted with a nearly empty factory with some Wonka-themed props and a small bouncy castle.
Oompa Loompa outfits had cheap brands online. In the photo: Jenny in the costume.
‘What really sucks too is that I haven’t had many opportunities because of this. The documentary and all that is because it took a long time for people to post videos of me and no one really reached out,” he said.
The event was canceled halfway through when angry mothers, fathers and grandparents demanded refunds. The organizers have promised to return the money to the people.
Kirsty previously said the actors all went to the pub after their experience and returned to find four police vans at the scene.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said officers were called to attend the canceled event and “were given advice”.
House of Illuminati, the organizers of the event, said they would refund families within a period of 10 business days.
But Jenny says she hasn’t seen many prosecuted.
Kirsty said: “Parents came up to me that day and said this is what they got their kids for Christmas and it can’t escape my mind and they didn’t get a refund.”
Michael added that the organizer of the event has “completely disappeared” since it took place last month.
Kirsty Paterson, 30, and Jenny Fogarty, 25, racked up millions of views on TikTok when they revealed they were, in fact, the two women behind the viral memes.
On Saturday, Coull’s latest venture, ‘Willy’s Chocolate Experience’, had perhaps its worst opening day ever after angry parents called the police.
In a statement on the House of Illuminati’s Facebook page, they said: “Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and we are very sorry.”
“Unfortunately, at the last minute we were let down in many areas of our event and we did everything we could to continue and move forward and now we realize we probably should have canceled first thing this morning.”
‘We apologize for what happened and will offer full refunds to each and every person who purchased tickets.
“We planned a fabulous event and it just didn’t take shape as we planned and so we are very sorry to be devastated by how this turned out and we understand people’s anger and frustration that everyone has had, refunds have already started to be issued and the break should be finished in the next few days, again we are sincerely sorry (sic) to everyone.’