The Traitors star Paul Gorton reveals life-threatening injury left him ‘screaming and crying in hospital’ as he almost had to forfeit his place on the BBC show

The Traitors star Paul Gorton has revealed he has suffered a life-threatening injury that almost cost him his place on the BBC show.

Fans were left happy after ‘villain’ Paul was finally banished during a nail-biting roundtable on Thursday evening.

The business manager, 36, became infamous on the show for his ‘Oscar-worthy’ acting skills and for not being afraid to throw his fellow contestants under the bus.

Yet the TV star almost didn’t make it to the show because he suffered a collapsed lung that landed him in the hospital just weeks before filming began.

Speak with OK! MagazinePaul revealed the extent of his terrifying health problems, which left him ‘screaming and crying’ in hospital after his lung collapsed during a tackle on the football field.

The business manager, 36, became infamous on the show for his ‘Oscar-worthy’ acting skills and for not being afraid to throw his fellow contestants under the bus, but just weeks before filming started he suffered a collapsed lung while playing football , he revealed to OK! Magazine

He explained: ‘My lung has collapsed. I was standing outside the emergency room, screaming and crying, and I was getting morphine and CAT scans and all that stuff.

“I almost had emergency surgery to re-inflate my lung because it had been so depressed, and yes, it was chaos.”

Paul then explained that there were complications related to the painkillers he was taking due to his body’s reaction, so recovery wasn’t easy, but in the back of his mind he knew he had to get better before filming for The Traitors began.

During his recovery, Paul was cared for by his wife Kate, with whom he shares son Charlie, 21 months.

Paul admitted that it was difficult not helping out as much at home, especially with his son, and the timing couldn’t have been worse as he was also starting a new job.

‘There was a lot going on, but I would have regretted pulling out of (The Traitors).”

As well as navigating a web of lies and deceit, the BBC show also sees contestants take part in a series of physical team building challenges to raise money for the winning prize pool.

From swimming across a lake to building a catapult, these challenges saw Paul take part in the most strenuous exercise he had taken part in since his injury.

The star confessed he was nervous his lung would collapse again, but he didn’t want to tell anyone on the show as he feared it would sound like a sympathy story.

He explained: ‘My lung collapsed. I was standing outside the emergency room, screaming and crying, and I was getting morphine and CAT scans and all that stuff. I almost had emergency surgery to re-inflate my lung because it had been so depressed, and yes, it was chaos.”

Fans were happy after ‘villain’ Paul was finally banished during a nail-biting roundtable on Thursday evening

Viewers quickly took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to celebrate that Paul’s ‘reign of terror’ had finally ended, while others praised him for delivering quality entertainment

Fans were also in favor of Harry winning the show after his unexpected betrayal of Paul, as he manipulated the Faithfuls into banishing him from the Scottish castle.

Paul’s actions on the show divided viewers, with many desperate to see him discovered and banished by the Faithfuls, while others praised him for providing entertainment.

However, his plans finally came to an end in Thursday’s drama-packed episode, after his fellow traitor Harry unexpectedly turned on him.

In response to the shocking ban, viewers quickly took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to celebrate that Paul’s ‘reign of terror’ had finally ended.

They wrote: ‘The largest round table ever;’ ‘Paul’s gone! Everyone is so happy, I love it;’ “Paul, your reign of terror is over;” ‘Hi Paul xoxo;’ “Darth Paul’s reign of terror over the galaxy is over.”

However, other viewers praised the ‘villain’ for providing quality ‘entertainment’ during the show and insisted he was perfect casting for the role of Traitor.

One said: ‘You know what Paul, you deserve to take a bow. You played the villain with great joy and confidence, gave us what we all wanted and kept us entertained for weeks. Take a bow, Paul, and, as always, make a bow throwing team.”

Another wrote: ‘Paul made great TV as a traitor. I will miss him! We all love a good Panto villain.”

“Paul was a brilliant traitor and a great TV villain,” said a third, with another adding: “Paul. A villain for the ages. What a time to be alive.’

While he embraces his mean side for the game show, in real life Paul enjoys making everyone laugh as an amateur comedian and is also a loving husband to his wife Kate and father to 21-month-old son Charlie.