Jaz
Age: 30
Job title: National Account Manager
Location: Manchester

Why did you apply to be on The Traitors?

A bloody great question to hit me with! I think it was my in-laws to be honest, they were halfway through an episode of series one and said to me and the missus, “Have you watched this? Sit down with us and watch this right now.” We watched it, looked at each other and said, “This is just amazing.” I liked everything about it. Obviously, we then watched the whole series and it totally resonated with everything I’ve been through. After watching, I never thought there was going to be A) a second series, B) that I was going to apply, and C) I was going to be selected. It’s like the stars have aligned themselves. I’m a bit cheesy and I think everything happens for a reason but, genuinely, everything just feels right.

What did you think of the first series?

It was exciting and it was intense. I got to the point where I was thinking “Why is everyone crying? It’s a game show.” But then you realise that when you’re in it, you’re away from your family and you start to understand why their emotions are so heightened. I really loved the game aspect of the show, both the physical and mental sides, I thought it was amazing. Everything was great, from the music, the setting of the castle, also Claudia was wicked. The cast, they also were such a mixed bag.

Was there anyone’s game plan you admired?

Probably Wilfred, that little rascal was really good. When I was watching it, I was thinking “If only I could be in his position…but get to the end.” To be honest, that’s what I would like to do. Hopefully, be a Traitor and get right to the end.

Do you have a game plan?

Half and half. I think if you go in with a game plan then you won’t last. If I’m a Traitor, I feel as though I’m going to go in with the mindset of a Faithful so people can see my body language, they can see my eye contact, they can see everything about me and go “This guy is a Faithful. So, there’s no point even questioning him.” And that’s it, just take them out one by one.

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

Just pure energy. That’s one thing that I know I’ll be able to give because I’ve never been given this opportunity before, this is once in a lifetime for me. So, what I’m going to bring is something that I’ve probably never brought to anything I’ve done in my life before. Not to sound cocky or obnoxious, because I would like to consider myself quite humble, but I’ve been very fortunate to achieve certain accolades and things in my life, but nothing, apart from the missus and my wedding day, has meant more to me than this. So, I’m looking at really going for it.

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

Yes, definitely. I’ll hopefully be able to tackle some of them well, or at least I hope so. There are some things that I hope they don’t choose for missions, random things like a Sudoku puzzle or something. To be honest I would rather do physical missions than mental ones. I’m going to put all my fitness into it. I go to the gym, I play football twice a week and I do other sports as well, all sorts.

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

Absolutely buzzing. I’m ready to be one, it’s just perfect. I feel like I’ll be able to play it well. I’m hyping myself up now, I need to calm myself down!

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

Yes. I think so. You just have to think of some really hard things that you’ve done in life, things that you’ve been put through, and you just think of that, and your mind goes floating away to something totally different.

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

All the way, without a shadow of a doubt. The thing is everyone wants the money, for all sorts of different reasons, so that’s just going to cloud my vision if I start to get emotionally involved in everyone’s story and then I’m going to be torn between all the other players. But for me, I want to go all the way. The last man standing.

How good are you at spotting a liar?

I’m terrible, if I’m honest. Well, to be fair, I might be alright. I’m not amazing at that because when you meet someone for the first time, it’s hard to understand what their personality is like. Who are they as a person? Is that how they act when they’re telling the truth? Is that how they act when they’re telling lies? If it’s someone that I’m familiar with I think I’d be able to tell when they’re bending the truth or when they’re blatantly lying… it’s all in the eyes. I’d like to think I could spot a snake a mile off!

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

I think being a team player, being personable and getting everyone onside. It’s important to form a clique, I suppose this applies if you’re a Traitor as well. Form a clique of the strongest and most influential people, or the people you believe hold a lot of importance and who others rely on. You have to get in amongst the group and stick closely with them. That’s what I saw from the last series, that’s what Wilfred was trying to do, he formed that little group. If I was a Faithful that’s what I’d do.

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

It’s a bit cheesy but my Mum has always wanted to go on the Orient Express. After everything we’ve been through as a family, I feel like my Mum deserves it. My wife has also been such a pillar of strength and I feel like she definitely deserves to go. Also, my Mother and Father-in-Law have just been everything to me and it would be something that we could all do together to celebrate, it would be phenomenal. I couldn’t even put it into words how I’d feel.

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.