Amol Rajan has admitted he "played the wrong game" after becoming the first celebrity to be murdered in the new series of Celebrity Traitors.
The 43-year-old journalist was killed off by Traitors Richard E Grant and Maya Jama during Friday night's (October 2) episode of the BBC show. Comedian James Acaster was given the opportunity to join the secret group after meeting Richard and Maya alongside Amol in the first episode.
Missed opportunity
Both celebrities had been asked to make their case for becoming a Traitor rather than facing murder, but it was James who was chosen to become a Traitor, leaving Amol lying in a coffin, 'murdered' by the Traitors.
Speaking on The Celebrity Traitors: Uncloaked after his exit, Amol reflected on his time in the castle and admitted he would have approached the game differently with hindsight.
"It's hard not to watch it and think I, obviously, with 20/20 hindsight, I played the wrong game," he said. "That was a crazy, crazy once-in-a-lifetime (opportunity)."
Wish to be a Traitor
The former Today presenter also admitted he would have welcomed the chance to become a Traitor, believing his experience as a Faithful could have helped him.
He stated: "Obviously, I wish I'd been chosen, and I wish I'd been a traitor. I think it would have thrown me a bit. I'd be like, 'what am I doing? what's going on?', having genuinely spent a day as a faithful, if I'd then been recruited, I think I would have been quite a good traitor because I'd actually known what it was like to be a faithful."
Amol also praised James, saying he believed the comedian would be "brilliant" in the role. Reflecting on his own strategy, the journalist said he knew he was entering the castle as "the journalist who asks all the awkward questions".
Strategy and ratings
However, he admitted he had tried to rein himself in after realising his approach could make him a target. He said he had repeatedly told himself to "shut up" in a bid to avoid being murdered or banished.
Friday night's episode ended on another cliffhanger, with Richard coming under intense scrutiny at the round table. The actor had already accidentally revealed to several contestants that he was a Traitor shortly after discovering his secret role in Thursday's episode.
Speaking about the blunder, Amol said: "What was that about? I mean no one's ever done that. I mean who knows?" He added: "I think the one tactic that you should try to abide by is to keep a little bit, you know, fly under the radar a little bit for the first few days. Just shut up for the first few shows."
The latest series has already proved a huge hit with viewers, with Friday's second episode attracting a peak audience of 8.6 million. The series launched with an average audience of 8.9 million, making it the most-watched debut episode of any series of the programme in the UK. Meanwhile, the second episode recorded an average audience of 8.5 million, with an audience share of 55.5 per cent.
