Paul
Age: 36
Job title: Business Manager
Location: Manchester

Why did you apply to be on The Traitors?

There are two answers for this. First and foremost, all of my friends and family said, “You need to watch this show, you need to go on this show.” That was before I had seen it and I still don’t know if that’s a compliment or not! When I watched it, it was about people that are really good at lying, what were they saying?! So, there was that but then I watched it and just fell in love with it straight away as it’s properly up my street. I love the activity side of things, especially the mission where they were walking across the drawbridge blindfolded, I really loved that. Then the Round Table with people’s emotions running high, I thought this is definitely something I could get involved in and, you know what, I might be able to succeed in.

What did you think of the first series?

I got addicted! We were latecomers so everyone was already talking about how good The Traitors was and we got hooked straight away and started bingeing it, a couple of episodes every night type of thing. We’ve started to watch the US and Australian series too, but I also don’t want my thought process to be altered by stuff before I go in!

Was there anyone’s game plan you admired?

Ivan, although I think he went too early. I thought he was good and that he’d go far but the slight issue he had was that he let everybody know his strategy and that he was into that sort of stuff. I think the person that I’m probably most like is Wilfred. A bit affable, everyone wanted to get on with him and that’s maybe the angle I’m going for. I think it’s about blending in a bit more like Amanda and Wilfred. If you can combine Amanda, Ivan and Wilfred with a bit of me on top, maybe I can go a little bit further? That’s the hope anyway.

What do you think you’ll bring to the game?

I think humour is a big one for me. I love comedy, if I could be a comedian that would be my dream job. I’ve done stand-up and did it down south at the Comedy Store in London and it’s just mind-blowing. If I can get comedy in there then I think it’s a really powerful tool to bond people and maybe diffuse situations when they get so tense. Maybe I can be a little bit of a comfort blanket and a distraction in that way. I guess last year there was no one in there that was exactly like me which is a good thing. Hopefully, I can have my own little niche.

Do you have a game plan?

I keep thinking that I should have a game plan but then I also think, maybe I should just freestyle it. The problem is, if you have a game plan and you try and stick to it but it doesn’t work you might get yourself in a bit of trouble. I think as soon as you tell someone that you’ve got a game plan then you could be picked out. I’m going to have a rough guideline of what I’m going to be like inside there, but then also I’m such a winger, I have no idea what I’m going to do or what I’m going to say, and if I did have a game plan the chances are I wouldn’t stick to it!

Do you think you’ll be good at the missions and what strengths do you think you might bring to them?

If I was going to have a game plan it would be for the Missions. Hopefully people will go “We need Paul for the Missions”. I love my riddles and I enjoy my sports, I feel that’s where I can add a lot of qualities like leadership. I know it sounds so cringey, but I’m obsessed with doing escape rooms and board games and all that kind of stuff. So hopefully I can really shine in the tasks and people will want to keep me around because I’m making money. I’m looking forward to the tasks, it’s the thing I’m looking forward to the most actually. The tasks and then the Round Table.

If you are a Traitor, how do you think you’ll feel?

Well, if Claudia touches my shoulder, I’m never washing that top again. I hope that happens because the more I think about what the show is, it is about the real Traitors, right? To participate in the show fully is to be a Traitor I think. It’s great to be a Faithful and find the Traitors but I want to be the one that people are trying to find. I would just try to be, calm, normal and just like me. If it happens, I’d be buzzing.

Would you say you’ve got a good poker face?

Yes. People think that with a poker face you always have to be stern, be stoic and not show emotion, I disagree with that. I think if you can show happiness when you’re really sad or sadness when you’re really happy, those are better qualities. Reading people is another strength that I think I will bring when I go in, because I think I can see it in people’s face when something has changed. I fancy myself here a little bit. I’m in the corporate world and that type of environment happens quite often; where you’re sat in a room and you’re being grilled and you’re defending yourself. I’ve been in that situation quite a few times before. So, I think this is perfect.

If you are a Traitor, how far are you prepared to go to win the game?

It’s easy for me to say this because I’ve not been there but I think I’d do anything, whatever it takes. I’d even say swear down and not even mean it…

If you’re a Faithful, what do you think your game plan would be?

I’ve got to be myself all the way. At the start, I actually don’t care who’s a Faithful and who’s a Traitor, I just need to build a pack. If you’ve got four or five players that can get you through the first Round Table you can be reading the other people. I think it’s more important to find a group first and then start picking people out. If you go in there as a lone-wolf people might think you’re not trustworthy and want to get you out. I think my personality means I can gain trust quick, or I hope so anyway. I am actually a nice person, promise. Swear down.

How good are you at spotting a liar?

I think I can see it a mile away. I’ve told enough myself and I’ve lived long enough to see the changes in people. I feel like I can spot a lie quite quickly and I’m not gullible. I think the best way to describe it is I think people get a bit disarmed around me because I am affable, I think that can make people slip up.If I think someone is telling a lie and I think they’re a Traitor, do I try and become their friend, so they keep me around?

If you are a Faithful, what qualities do you think you’re going to need to make it through to the final?

I think you’ve got to be, or at least come across, as the most genuine, open-book person you’ll ever see. Hannah from series one is an amazing example of that because she was called out once at Round Table and said, “Just send me home then”, from there no one ever questioned her. It will be interesting to see where my personality might fit, or what version of me I should be on the show as not many loud characters made it to the end.

If you win the prize money, what do you think you’ll spend it on?

It’ll have to be a house. For myself, my partner, our little boy and our dog – I need to get us all a house! We’re renting at the moment and mortgage rates are just chaos, so if I can win the show or be part of a group of people that win the show then that is life changing for us. The family, the house, nothing glamorous really, there’s no cars, parties or holidays, it’s: we need a roof over our heads and then that will set us up for the rest of our lives. Or a Ferrari…

In this nail-biting psychological reality competition, Claudia Winkleman greets 22 strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

But hidden amongst them are the Traitors whose job is to secretly murder a player every night, without getting caught.

It’s up to the others, the Faithfuls, to try to detect who the traitors are, and banish them from the game, before they become their next victim.

For the lucky ones who survive to the end, they have the chance of winning that life-changing cash. But if a Traitor remains undetected, they’ll steal all the money.

The Traitors returns on Wednesday 3 January from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately after. The show will air on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.