This article contains no spoilers about the final episode of The Traitors
I’ve always wanted to be an actor, but I’ve never really acted before. Maybe that’s why I jumped at the chance to be the pantomime villain in the latest series of the BBC’s The Traitors, a game where 22 “faithfuls” have to uncover the titular “traitors” in their midst.
I applied because my friends on the podcast Chatabix told me to – I decided that if I was going to be a traitor, I wanted to be the best traitor there ever was. On my application form, I said I wanted to be devious and manipulative – after all, it’s well within the rules. When I got on the show and the host, Claudia Winkleman, asked me to describe myself in three words, I said “competitive”, “cruel” and “traitor” – because I wanted her to pick me. I wasn’t leaving it to chance.
Now, listen – I do have a normal job in business development, and to get that job I didn’t say those three words when they asked me the same question. I’m not really cruel. I’m a nice person who cares a lot about people. I mean, OK, I do like to play devious little jokes. My partner will ask if I’ve taken the bins out and I’ll say, “No, don’t worry, they don’t need to go out.” She’ll start jumping around and then I’ll tell her I did do it really.
My gameplan before going into the show was to have people fall in love with me and for me to fall in love with them. I didn’t do this by acting, I was just me. I’m sensitive and funny. I try to be all the things that a younger version of me would want to be. I was just a normal, nice guy who was heavily invested in people. People liked me and it was reciprocated – it just so happened that I needed to kill them every night. And, yes, I relished it because it was fun.
I did set some rules for myself. I decided I would never assassinate someone’s character. There were people in the show who I knew were struggling more than others with the mind games, so I didn’t accuse them of being traitors. I was also conscious of not being too shouty or sweary. Another rule was that I would always call out “traitorous” behaviour, whether the person was or wasn’t a traitor – that was a good way to look faithful. I betrayed my fellow traitor Ash early in the game because I had to say what I’d seen, otherwise I would have looked suspicious. Going in, I was prepared to betray everyone. The game isn’t built for three or four traitors to win. I don’t have any bad feelings towards Harry, the traitor who betrayed me. I’m almost proud of him for doing that.
I never worried about what the British public would think about my behaviour – I think I forgot about that aspect of the game. There have been a handful of comments online where people have crossed the line. Other than that, it’s been amazing. I don’t mind criticisms where people say they wanted me to get caught and kicked off the show – because when I’m watching it back, I’m thinking the same thing. I’m more offended if people aren’t talking about it. As long as the comments are in the spirit of the game, I don’t care whether they’re good or bad.
Interestingly, I’ve never had more LinkedIn messages from people wanting to work with me. The show has definitely boosted my CV. I was given a role and I nailed that role – so anyone who wants to work with me knows I’m going to be 100% committed. Within the rules of The Traitors, you can lie and manipulate – you can’t do that in real life, but you have to play the rules that are given to you. Maybe that’s why I manage to play the corporate game so well.
In the end, I’m almost glad I didn’t win The Traitors – I think I would have felt guilty if I had taken the money off everyone. I’ve also noticed that as soon as I left the show, the online hate started to dissipate. People have started to say, “What an amazing baddie! We actually miss him now!” As for what’s next: I’ve always wanted to be a comedian, actor or presenter. But, as fun as all those things sound, I have a family and I have to work; I’m 36 this year and I can’t quit my job. Still, if opportunities come to me that would be amazing – I’d like to try something at least, be it on the TV or radio. And, of course, at some point, I need to do panto.
Paul Gorton is a business manager and podcaster
As told to Amelia Tait
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