BBC’s The Traitors has introduced a fresh batch of Faithfuls and Traitors to the halls of Ardross Castle for another gripping season.
The reality game show sees 22 contestants vying for a staggering prize of up to £120,000. To claim the life-altering sum, players must unmask and oust the covert Traitors among them. Should a Traitor cunningly bluff their way to the finale, they abscond with the entire prize fund.
The pivotal roundtable sequences where contenders gather to air their suspicions and vote on who to banish provide some of the show’s most dramatic moments. Despite the scenes occupying just a brief segment of the hour-long episodes, audiences might be astonished to find out that the filming duration can extend for several hours, reports the Mirror.
In conversation with Screen Time, former contestant Theo Mayne disclosed some behind-the-scenes insights that viewers might find surprising about the show, stating: “Filming roundtables can last up to two or three hours.”
The 28-year-old cheerleading coach and stage performer, who was a Faithful in the inaugural season, had his journey on The Traitors cut short during a roundtable session when he was ousted by Traitor Amanda Lovett, despite her previous assurances of trust.
Even though his stint on the programme concluded after nine episodes, he distinctly remembers the atmosphere of the room where the roundtable scenes were shot as being “morbid” and “freezing.”
“That room is very morbid. It’s set in a church so you automatically feel like something is looming over you. It’s also so cold; I don’t know if they purposefully make it cold, but I found myself thinking, ‘Can somebody put 50p in the meter, please?’ because it was freezing in there,” he quipped.
Explaining further about the behind-the-scenes action, he added: “The breakfast scenes could sometimes take two to three hours to shoot, to the point where you start thinking ‘What’s going on?'”.
“I think every time I was in a breakfast or roundtable scene, I would be looking around the room thinking I just want a McDonald’s.”
Despite some days being “draining,”, Theo looks back on his time spent filming in the Scottish Highlands with great affection. “The days were long and draining but for me, it was an experience and I treasured every moment,” he said reflectively.
In the conclusion of season one, the victory went to Faithfuls Meryl Williams, Hannah Byczkowski and Aaron Evans, with season two seeing Traitor Harry Clark walk away with £95,000.
The Traitors continues tonight at the later time of 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer