Former Traitor Paul Gorton, who appeared on series two of the BBC One hit The Traitors, has lifted the lid on the show's inner workings. Speaking exclusively on behalf of WhichBingo, Gorton described the intense atmosphere inside the turret and the gruelling roundtable sessions that leave contestants begging host Claudia Winkleman for time to run out.
Gorton explained that the turret, where the Traitors plot their next move, is a tense environment. 'It feels like the oxygen is a bit thicker in the room,' he said, noting that the pressure to devise strategies and eliminate players is mentally taxing. He compared the feeling to finishing an exam, where the stress only hits once it's over.
One of the most surprising revelations concerned the length of the roundtables, where contestants vote to banish a player. Gorton admitted that no one knows how long they actually last because there are no clocks in the castle. 'It could be two hours, it could be five hours,' he said, adding that he and other contestants often begged Claudia to call time. 'You're looking at her and you're like, "Oh, I can see the corner of her face and there's no heat on me. Get through this, get through this."'
Gorton noted that the removal of time is a deliberate and genius production choice. 'Outside of the missions, the only thing you know how long something lasts is when Claudia says it's an hour,' he said. 'Otherwise you're just guessing.' He split his days into segments: breakfast, missions, lunch, dinner, and roundtable—each potentially lasting different lengths without any clocks to give structure.
The ex-contestant also revealed that in the moment, players don't consciously adopt a 'Traitor face' or 'Faithful face'—they are simply reacting naturally to the game's demands. His insights give fans a rare glimpse into the psychological challenges of appearing on the hit reality show.
