'We went viral as Oompa Loompas but we're just normal people'

Jenny Fogarty

Worldwide fame is not what two aspiring actresses from Glasgow expected when they signed up for a weekend acting job.

Kirsty Paterson and Jenny Fogarty were hired to play Oompa Loompas at the now infamous Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience in Glasgow last weekend, but admitted they “had no idea what they were walking into”.

Hundreds of families were left disappointed after paying to attend the event, which was cancelled halfway through its first day. At one point even the police were called.

Pictures of the experience have gone viral on social media and made headline news around the world.

Organisers House of Illuminati have apologised, promised refunds, and said they would hold no future events.

Kirsty Paterson, 29, who has been branded the "sad Oompa Loompa" on social media has been shocked by the reaction.

She told BBC Scotland News: “We are just normal people, I can’t believe this has happened.

“When we took the job we had no idea what we were walking into.

“You just have to throw yourself in and play the character. We just had fun with it, that’s all you can do.”

In her day job, Kirsty is a fire performer and trainee yoga instructor from Glasgow.

She said: "We turned up on the Friday - bearing in mind we had already signed a contract by this poin - we looked at the scene and it was just bizarre."

Eva Stewart

The experience had been advertised as a Wonka wonderland, using images generated using artificial intelligience.

Instead, the women found a “few pieces of cloth hanging up” and a venue that was “really poorly put together”.

“I thought they were going to have people working through the night to make it look better but that was not the case," Kirsty said.

"I think all the parents who attended can vouch, we were lovely, we didn’t make the children cry, we really tried our best."

SWNS

Fellow Oompa Loompa Jenny Fogarty, 25, is a production designer and small business owner originally from Dublin but now living in Glasgow.

She added: "We just decided to do the best we could, given the circumstances.

"We are experienced working with children so we were just trying to make it as fun as possible for them.

"It was really difficult, there was children coming in with birthday badges, some dressed up as little Willy Wonkas, they were just so excited coming in and we had to be like ‘sorry this is it’."

Kirsty and Jenny said they went through three 45 minute performances before they were instructed to abandon the script they had been given just 12 hours before.

That was when “everything began to go downhill”, they said.

Stuart Sinclair

Stuart Sinclair

Videos about the event have been viewed hundreds of millions of time on TikTok, Twitter and Facebook.

The event has made headlines in newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Kirsty said her new-found fame was "overwhelming".

"People need to remember I didn’t put myself out there so this publicity has went on me without my consent really," she said.

"I don’t even really use social media, so it’s been mental."

The reaction became so overwhelming, she turned her phone off for two days.

"I’ve got incredibly thick skin, and I’m always happy to make a joke of myself but I think it did get a bit too much for me when it was outwith my control," she said.

"People were slagging off my looks and everything else."

Kirsty said she was able to see the funny side of it now but felt she had to speak out to show the person behind the green wig.

Jenny Fogarty

Jenny said she got off a lot lighter than many of her castmates who have been trolled but she has still been inundated with messages.

"I’ve had friends from different countries who are letting me know they’ve heard about it," she said.

"I’ve had YouTubers that I used to watch when I was like 14 posting about me, it’s bizarre.

"For all the craziness of the past week, it has brought a lot of smiles and a lot of joy to people, its been a whirlwind experience. I don’t think any of us were expecting this when we took a weekend job. It’s crazy the way its blown up.

"I am trained as a production designer. I’ve not been able to get jobs for a few years, so I’m hoping this can help with that. I could definitely put on a better show."

Kirsty and Jenny were only paid half of their agreed fee for the event.

Organisers, House of Illumanati said on social media they will be holding no future events.

A petition to to bring back the experience has been launched, while Scottish actress Karen Gillan has said she wants to star in a film adaptation of the event.