I was a contestant on The Traitors and here are some secrets from the show bosses don’t want you to know
A former contestant on The Traitors has revealed some secrets about the hit BBC One show.
Alex Gray was a contestant on series one of the show and remained loyal throughout her time in the game.
The presenter and actress refused to be recruited as a traitor and was ultimately murdered in episode eight.
Speak with Cosmopolitan BritainAlex revealed that all participants taking part will have to undergo a psychological assessment to ensure they are mentally fit enough to take part.
To prepare, Alex talked about how she had read two books on the psychology of lying, but felt they weren’t helpful.
The Londoner admitted that it was ‘very difficult’ to detect if someone was lying and that she also found it difficult to sleep in the castle because she could not switch off her brain.
A former contestant on The Traitors has revealed some secrets about the hit BBC One show
Alex Gray was a contestant on series one of the show and remained loyal throughout her time in the game
She said: ‘The cameras are on you all day. You didn’t have to put it away like a board game – and even when you’re no longer in the castle, you still ruminate on things that happened; ‘What if I had done this differently? Maybe this person is a traitor?’
Alex also revealed that a wellbeing person is assigned to every two participants and that participants also have the option to speak to a psychologist to ‘ground yourself again’.
The staff also gave participants a recap of each episode before it aired to “mentally prepare you.”
Alex believes that host Claudia Winkleman has been instructed not to talk too much to the contestants.
She said: ‘It was clear she wanted to talk to us and get to know us, but sometimes she would come and talk and it was clear someone would say something in her ear and she would say, ‘Sorry guys, I have to go!’ I think they wanted her to keep this terrifying role of headmistress.”
It comes after this year’s contestant, Maia Gouveia, was apparently caught using a company credit card after being fired from her job for going on holiday in Trinidad.
The 25-year-old BBC contestant was employed by gift company Bubblegum Stuff last year as a social media manager, but was fired after three months when she suddenly stopped showing up for work.
Alex revealed that all participants taking part will have to undergo a psychological assessment to ensure they are mentally fit enough to take part
Alex believes that host Claudia Winkleman has been instructed not to talk too much to the contestants
Maia, whose sister Armani, 28, appeared alongside her in the hit TV series before being exposed as a traitor, failed to notify her bosses about a holiday to Trinidad in February 2024, leading to her contract was terminated.
It was six months after she left the company, owned by Apprentice 2016 runner-up Courtney Wood, 38, that Maia apparently used the company’s credit card without permission to make several purchases after leaving the details in her personal Apple Pay had saved.
The credit card was immediately blocked and a police report was made, with Maia later claiming that the charges on the card had been made by mistake.
Maia, who has 152.7k followers on TikTok, stars in the current season of The Traitors and was stunned to discover that co-star and sister Armani had been secretly working to kill fellow players.
Traitor star Maia Gouveia was apparently caught using a company credit card after being fired from her job for vacationing in Trinidad
The BBC contestant was employed by the charity Bubblegum Stuff as their social media manager, but was fired after three months when she suddenly stopped showing up for work
Maia’s sister Armani was banned from the match on Friday after her fellow players exposed her as a traitor
A source close to Maia said: ‘Maia deeply regrets the mistakes she made during her tenure at Bubblegum Stuff and her actions afterwards.
‘She was going through a difficult time as a new mother and wished she behaved differently.
‘Maia’s father visited the Bubblegum Stuff office to make amends after the credit incident came to light, while Courtney decided not to pursue the matter further.’
The mother, who is pregnant with her second child, is one of 25 entrants in this year’s The Traitors competing for a potential prize pool of £120,000.
Her older sister Armani worked undercover as one of the three traitors, but was banished during Friday night’s episode.
Armani’s fate was sealed after Maia admitted that she was 60 percent sure her sister was a traitor and the cast voted to remove her from the competition.
Armani’s fate was sealed after Maia admitted she was 60 percent sure her sister was a traitor and the cast voted to remove her from the competition
Maia sobbed after realizing that her instincts were correct and that Armani had been working undercover to secretly kill the Believers.
Ahead of her appearance on the show, Maia confessed that she was a ‘natural liar’ and was inspired to sign up after watching previous series and feeling like she could do better.
She said: “I watched the last series when it aired and I was so invested. I always thought to myself: I can do that better.
“I literally thought you guys don’t lie well, you guys don’t lie well, there’s too many emotions going on, this is money.
MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for the Traitors for comment.