Zack
Age: 27
Job title: Parliamentary Affairs Advisor
Location: London

Why did you apply to be on The Traitors?

I think I am very good at reading people, mostly because of my career and I want to see if that is the case. I think it also helps that I come from a small, very tightly-knit, Jewish community where socially everyone just knows each other’s business. I suppose I applied for The Traitors to see if I’m as smart as I think I am! The money would be a huge bonus for my girlfriend and I who are trying to find a flat, and obviously in the cost of living crisis, it’s not great. Fundamentally it’s a bit of a selfish sort of reason, I think that I could win it if I’m a Faithful, I’ve already said that I do not want to be a Traitor at all because I’m never going to win. But I reckon I could win as a Faithful, essentially I’m just trying to see if I’m as delirious or as sane as I think I am!

What did you think of the first series?

I thought it was great. I know it came from a Dutch show and they did it in the USA and Australia, but I thought it was very eccentric and ground-breaking. I’ve played games like Mafia and Werewolf with my friends. So, I loved it, and I thought it was amazing. My friends and I started watching it together and we loved it and were hooked immediately.

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

I like to think I’m quite a physical person, I go to the gym about three times a week. I don’t feel like I do though, I feel awful!

Was there anyone’s game plan you admired?

Wilfred for sure. He kind of went for the ultimate Traitor move which was to sell his Traitor buddies down the river. I thought that was brutal, but it was so effective. When he chucked Alyssa under the bus it took all the pressure off him. Although, he did mess up at the end by choosing Kieran to be by his side, that was probably one of his bad moves. If he had tried to recruit Hannah it might have worked out better. I think he was great and the standout for the series. I actually rewatched it and I was watching him in the first episode; he was so on it from the start, it was so Machiavellian -he was a schemer.

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

If I’m a Faithful I think I’ll bring a lot, I think I’ll bring a lot more than being a Traitor. I’ve got a massive mouth so I can’t really keep anything a secret. If I am a Faithful I’ll bring my perception, I’ll bring an understanding of what people are thinking and lies they might be weaving without them really realising it because of my career. I ultimately find out what MPs are thinking so I feel like I could do it with the average person who hasn’t undergone that scrutiny or the media training before. I feel like I’ll bring that area of expertise to the show and hopefully, the Faithful team. I’m really pushing to be a Faithful and now they might say “Sorry mate, you’re a Traitor!”

Do you have a game plan?

My game plan, regardless of which team I’m in, is to strike up close friendships. I’d like to think I give quite a good first impression, I’m quite charismatic, and I do strike up quite intimate relationships quite quickly, so I’d like to lean into that a little bit. Try and get two, three, four people from different age groups and backgrounds and have their backs but kind of be secretly puppeteering from the background so they do the things I want them to do.

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

I think I’ll feel quite happy. You have the power in your hands, you’re probably going to get through a few Round Tables and have a bit more fun being there for a bit longer. I just don’t think I could win with it though. I know that I would give it away, I smile so much. If I’m at the Round Table and someone accuses me of being a Traitor I’m probably going to just smile and laugh at them, rather than passionately defend myself. I think I’d be better as a Faithful.

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

I’ve won a few poker tournaments, so I do hope so. But no. I do this stupid thing where my lips just curl up, I can’t help it!

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

I think I’d be cutthroat. I’d like to think I wouldn’t factor in sentimentality, even though I said close friendships were a big part of my game plan. I’d like to think I could take out emotion. It makes me sound like a really horrible person but I’m a compassionate person. It is a game and I think I’ll be able to have the guile to recognise that. I think I’d be even more brutal than Wilfred…

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

I guess it’s tricky. I was really thinking about the first couple of episodes and how I’m going to act and behave to try and avoid getting the boot on the first episode. I think the best way is to sit in the middle in the first few episodes. If you’re absolutely certain someone is a Traitor, I think you should be loud about it. I think you should call it out straight away because if you’re right and you trust your gut feeling the odds are they can’t vote you off because they’re not going to do that, so you have protection, you basically have immunity if you figure it out immediately. But on the other hand, you don’t want to raise suspicions so it’s probably best to keep quiet for the first couple of episodes before you know for certain who is who. I guess I can lean on my understanding of facial expressions and tonalities and the way people talk and look. I’m really bigging myself up and I know I’m going to bottle it! Hopefully, I’ll stick in the middle, I’m not going to be dead quiet, not going to attract any attention and say nothing, but I’m not going to say everything or give my hand away.

How good are you at spotting a liar?

I think I’m good, absolutely, yeah. I think I can spot if someone is pulling the wool over my eyes.

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

You’ve got to be likeable, definitely. You can’t be robotic, you need to show emotion, you need to be able to plead your case when someone’s pointing the finger at you which a lot of people didn’t have last series. You’ve got to be smart in the way you play it. You can’t play it like Maddy who was just accusing Wilfred at every turn, kind of giving her cards away. Although she was right! Which gave her the protection. I think it’s about being likeable, intelligent and effective in the way you play your cards. I think passion goes really far and it’s good to show your emotion. For example, Wilfred broke down in tears a few times and I think that might have been a reason why people didn’t get suspicious.

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

It’s going to be a boring answer, but a deposit on a flat. The real answer, that my girlfriend doesn’t know, is I want to spend it on a Mazda MX-5, because I love cars and racing. It’s going to sound like a really nerdy answer, but the Mazda MX-5 has perfect balance, so I want to take it round tracks around Europe – that’s my dream. But the flat is my answer, and as far as my girlfriend is concerned that’s what I’m saying. I have to say the flat, my girlfriend will break up with me if I didn’t say it!

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.