The Traitors’ Jonny reveals he fought for two years to save his leg before it was amputated and is haunted by the moment explosive blew his 20-ton military vehicle 14ft in the air

Traitors star Jonny has fought for two years to save his injured leg after narrowly escaping death when an explosive device launched his 20-tonne military vehicle more than 4 meters into the air.

Jonny Holloway, 31, from Bedfordshire, a Faithful on the hit BBC show which launched last week, has spoken out about the moment his tank hit the 180lb IED while he was touring Afghanistan near Lashkar Gah, in the Helmand province.

The father-of-two lay on the ground with his left leg “feeling like it was on fire” and “shattered” as the Taliban launched rocket-propelled grenades as bullets rained down on troops.

‘I’m very lucky to be alive. It makes me short of breath just thinking about it now,” said Jonny, who joined the Royal Lancers in the Royal Armored Corps at the age of 17. The mirror.

‘I remember opening my eyes and thinking, “Oh, that felt like a good shuffle.” Then it felt like my left foot was on fire. The force of the explosion had gone straight through my left leg, shattering everything in its path.’

Jonny Holloway, 31, from Bedfordshire, a Faithful on the hit BBC show which launched last week, has spoken out about the moment his tank hit the 180lb IED in Afghanistan in 2014.

In addition to the leg injury, Jonny was left blind in one eye and suffered a brain injury that affected his short-term memory and concentration. He has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

When Jonny returned home, he “woke up every morning feeling nauseous and dizzy” from the injury to his head.

But he was determined to keep his leg despite the many infections and agonizing pain he suffered, and he had to rely on crutches or a wheelchair to get around.

“It was a very dark time mentally and physically,” he said. ‘For two years I fought to keep my leg, even though doctors wanted to amputate it. I was stubborn and believed it would heal. “I wanted to do everything I could to save my leg, but now I realize it was the worst decision in the world.”

Jonny developed paranoia and was constantly on alert because he feared he was being watched or about to face an impending attack. He sat in the house with the curtains closed.

The military hero felt like a burden to his partner Lauren and decided to ‘admit defeat’ months after their wedding in January 2016 and have his leg amputated below the knee.

In June, Jonny was walking again and felt like ‘I had my life back’ as he was supported by Blesma charity The Limbless Veterans.

He went on to welcome two children – a daughter named Amalie and son Maverick – after initially being told they wouldn’t be able to have children.

Jonny said that while he still has ‘dark days’, he has a new outlook on life and believes seeing things from a ‘different perspective’ will prove crucial in helping him uncover the traitors.

In addition to the leg injury, Jonny was blind in one eye and had a brain injury that affected his short-term memory and concentration.

“It was a very dark time mentally and physically,” he said. “For two years I fought to keep my leg, despite doctors wanting to amputate it,” Jonny said. When he did, he said, ‘I got my life back’

The Traitors sees 22 strangers play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000

The Traitors sees 22 strangers play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

In the show, most of the contestants are Faithfuls and they must figure out who among them are Traitors – who have the chance to ‘kill’ a fellow contestant every night.

The group has daily ‘bans’ in which they must vote to kick out someone they believe is a traitor, while working together on challenges to raise money for the prize fund.

In addition, the participants compete in various ‘missions’, which until now have aimed to increase the prize pool, but this year can also see the group win ‘shields’ that protect them from murder for one day.

Last Friday’s show ended on a cliffhanger, with either Faithful Brian or Traitor Ash being banished.

The Traitors continues on Wednesdays on BBC One at 9pm.