Rob Beckett was the third Faithful murdered by the Traitors

How does it feel to be leaving the game now?

I'm a bit sad because I would have liked to have gone further, but a killing in plain sight, I've managed to get a Traitor, I've got a couple of Faithfuls wrong at the banishments, I’ve done some Missions, done the breakfast - I feel like I've done almost all of it. I was really missing the kids, so I'm happy to go - the kids wanted me to do it, and I've done five episodes and been murdered. So that's enough, let daddy have a day off!

Was being funny an advantage or disadvantage?

Basically, my game was to stay quiet and stay under the radar until the herd is thinned and then strike. But I was the herd that was thinned, so it didn't really work out.

Was it hard to read Romesh in there?

Romesh looks hard to read, but I know him like a brother, and I knew, as soon as I looked him in the eye, that he was a Faithful, and he knew I was a Faithful.

Were you happy being a Faithful?

Not really, I'd rather have been a Traitor. The thing is, as a Faithful, you're reactive, whereas the Traitors are proactive, and there's more to do, you get to go in the turret and all that. So I would have preferred to be a Traitor, but I was happy being a Faithful.

What was your reaction to Richard E. Grant saying he was a Traitor?

I thought he was a Traitor before he shouted it. So I'm quite annoyed, really, the only one I'd got, he blurted it out.

What was the experience like for you?

What I loved most was meeting everyone and talking to them. When you have Michael Sheen, Richard E. Grant, Jerry Hall, James Blunt, I don't care who's a Traitor. Give me the anecdotes I want the gossip. So everyone was going back to the hotel writing ideas of who it might be in their notepad, and I've got a notepad full of anecdotes that they told me that can only get wheeled out when I'm drunk at a party.

Who were you closest to in there?

Obviously Romesh. I got really close to James Blunt, Julie, even though I banished her, and Jerry Hall, I'd say I got to know everyone really,

Did you think your time might be up in the Crypt with Ross, Romesh and Leigh-Anne?

I thought they're definitely not going to get rid of Ross, because people suspect him. So they’d be mad to get rid of him, because he's going to be up for the chop at the Round Table. And then Leigh-Anne and Romesh were coming for Hannah, and obviously Hannah was a Traitor. So I think really, actually, I should have thought about it and gone, give me the key!

Do you regret giving Leigh-Anne a key?

I cannot in good faith, allow a member of Little Mix and now an unbelievable solo artist in Leigh-Anne Pinnock, go into a crypt in the middle of the night! First of all, I'm a gentleman. I can't do that. Secondly, I don't want hate off the Mixers. I don't need Little Mixers on my case because I left Leigh-Anne out in the cold.

You were really sure that Julie was a Traitor, how did you feel when you found out she wasn't?

I felt bad, but also I laughed. I find it really funny when we get it wrong, which makes me sound heartless. But Julie, I did feel bad, because Julie's so lovely, and we really bonded that day on the way into the castle. We really chatted, and then I bloody banished her off.

What's going to be your highlight from playing the game?

My highlight was meeting Jerry Hall, I love her. She's got such an amazing energy. She's just so chilled. We just floated on together. She tells me her life motto probably every eight minutes, and that is what will be will be.

No one wrote your name down at the Round Table, how did that feel?

I felt like I was suspected for a bit, because my face went red once, and then they went no, his face always goes red, and then that died off. But I think the blessing and curse of me is you know exactly how I feel when you look in my eyes and what I'm thinking. And I think that makes me a good comedian, a good communicator, because I can only be honest because of my face.

What did you think when you saw who the Traitors were?

I knew it was Hannah, but James... I gave James the benefit of the doubt because he desperately wanted to be a Faithful, but then that's the oldest trick in the book, saying that, but then he had been really quiet recently, and on reflection, he'd avoided me a lot which makes sense, because I know him quite well. And then Maya Jama, I mean, Maya Jama does not change her personality, whatever's happening. So she's going to be a great Traitor, I think she could win it.

Would you leave the other players with any words of motivation as they continue to search for the Traitors?

I'd say, don't stress yourself about it. All the money goes to charity. Have a good time for a long time.

Who are you tipping to go far or even win?

I want Jerry Hall to win. Jerry Hall's my pick, a rank outsider, but she’s my pick.

Who would you like to see make it all the way?

The ultimate finale would be Leigh-Anne, Jerry and Romesh staring down Acaster. Three on one and they take his sorry ass to the cleaners.

What three words might you use to sum up your experience?

Don't trust anyone.

Joe Lycett was a Faithful and the fifth player banished at the Round Table

What was the experience like for you?

It was beyond what I was expecting. It was so much more immersive, and I cared so much more about it than I thought I would. Obviously, when you watch the show and people really get into it and they start crying, you think get over yourselves, it’s just a game. But when you're in it, it is your whole life. And because I love the show, it was everything I wanted it to be, it was so much fun playing the game, and obviously very frustrating when you didn't find the Traitors. But I was fortunate enough to find two Traitors in my tenure and that's amazing.

Were you disappointed not to be a Traitor?

I am disappointed, because that was my dream. I sort of didn't play being a Faithful or a Traitor right. I tried to straddle both, and I was being greedy and I was rightly punished for it.

Did you have a game plan?

My game plan of using stats wouldn't have worked, because those stats required the Traitors not knowing them. I couldn't rely on them, which is sort of like in hindsight, why I think I just threw all the cards in the air that night and went ‘recruit me’, because I felt like I've got nothing now as a Faithful so I felt that my game plan had amounted to precisely zero, and it was time to try a different tactic, basically.

Do you think being so vocal about wanting to be a Traitor was ultimately your downfall?

I’m a silly billy - it was a combination of me begging for recruitment and then the Faithful being thick as mince and not thinking the obvious recruitment would be Joe. I don't blame them, because I would have done the same. I concede I've done this very much to myself, but I was too hungry to be recruited. And you know, if being passionate is a crime, then banish me from the castle.

Taking you back to the beginning, how did it feel in the church when Julie gave you a shield on day one?

I was so nervous and full of adrenaline and frantic that first day that I can't really remember what happened. I just remember feeling very, very nervous at the prospect of Julie being thrown to the wolves in some early brutal game from Claudia. So, I just instinctively stood up for her and basically said, ‘Let's just be careful, we're not going to banish or murder Julie straight out the game’. And I think I was rewarded for that gesture.

What are your thoughts about the comedians theory?

I think the theory hadn't been brilliantly thought through. One thing about comedians is that they often are quite good at finding holes in arguments. I was glad of the fact that I was part of the comedians gang, because it meant that at least one of them, and in my observation, it was James Acaster, would unravel that logic. And he did at the Round Table, and I think put it to bed that point. The point that actually there are more actors in there than comedians. So, you could say there was more likely an actor theory.

Did it help knowing a lot of them already?

I think for my mental well-being, it did, because we all know each other outside of the show, and we're playing a game in here. It's tricky, particularly with someone like Hannah Fry, who I really admire but had not met before, and really want to be my friend. I didn't like the idea that I was simultaneously trying to make a new friend whilst also accusing them of lying on national television. It's a weird way of establishing trust with a new friend.

Who did you feel closest to in there?

I really bonded with Hannah, even though she was lying to my face the whole time. Miranda is someone that I've met briefly in the past and I've always loved. I'm really pleased that I got a chance to play with her, do some sort of an improv, essentially, and kind of mess about. So I got very close with her, and then all the comics, of course. But I felt like I had a meaningful connection with everyone in there and really, really liked them all, and didn't expect to when I saw the lineup, I thought, well, there's going to be some people I'm going to find difficult, or are divas or whatever. And the reality was completely different. I got a lovely experience in either a big or a small way out of all of them.

Talk to me about the Missions?

I actually love the Missions, it was something I was really looking forward to, and loved. I think I'm clearly a bit of a dog in that I just need to be let out and given a run around, and have something to chase or grab and run back with, and I get a lot of pleasure out of that. I think those Missions do that and are really fun and I’ve missed not doing it.

What was it like getting a Traitor out at the first Round Table?

It’s pretty amazing, pretty good going. I think I’m right in saying that a Traitor, to my knowledge, has never announced themselves as a Traitor. I know lots of people tried to steer me away from it, but I was like, there's no game around that, he absolutely meant it when he said it to me. God knows what was going through his head. It was an absolutely superb, classic, Richard E. Grant way of responding to this game. It's one of the most iconic performances I've ever seen on this series.

In your gold chat with Claudia, you said your hope and dream was to be a Faithful who was recruited. Why was that?

I'm a fan of the show, I really love this programme, and I wanted to get as much of the experience as possible. I wanted to know what it felt like to be a Faithful and what it felt like to be a Traitor. So it was just a desire to absorb as much of the experience as possible. But I hadn't factored into that that I'm a silly billy, so I sabotage myself sometimes. I think I did get a very me experience of what it was like to be me on the Traitors. I don't feel like I pretended to be someone else. In the words of Katherine Ryan's mother, if we were all the same, we'd all be shagging your father.

When Hannah said that she was a Traitor, what did you think?

I didn't really believe that she was because we'd had such lovely Faithful chats, I hadn't entertained the idea properly in my head, but felt, from a purely statistical point of view, I had to pursue the fact that she might be because there were so many recruitments early on, and I would recruit her if I were a Traitor. So when she announced that she was, it was a total thrill. But it also threw up more questions and answers, because I want to know, when did she become a Traitor? Was she the first one and how much of the chats that we were having to the side were truthful.

What's been your proudest achievement?

I'm proud of the Missions and my involvement in those, I really felt like I mucked in, and was useful. I’m delighted that a charity will get some money, and I might have helped with that.

Do you think you learned anything about yourself taking part in the game?

The word that comes to mind for this whole experience is gratitude. It's made me really grateful for my life. I'm really grateful that I am in a position that I get to experience this, because I'm famous enough to be in the mix. I loved having my phone taken away from me, and I'm really grateful for the fact that I have a lovely life to miss. It's been full on, but there's been lots of periods where I've been able to pause and reflect and enjoy the company of the other players and the production team. It has been a life changing experience in lots of ways, and made me more grateful and happier about the life that I live.

Do you have any words of motivation for the players as they continue in their search for the Traitors?

Absolutely, I’d like to motivate the Traitors to find an unknown clause in the contract that can bring back a Faithful that's been banished to recruit because I'm there if they want me! I would say to the Faithful that they need to stop voting in a block and experiment with voting with their heart and their instincts, rather than following what happens at the Round Table, because that might reap more rewards.

Who are you tipping to take the win?

I think Romesh is a front runner. I think he's kind of unreadable but may get heat just on that basis. Then I think there could be a real curve ball, like Jerry or Joanne, someone who's playing it in a way that's out there. I've gone to Round Tables not knowing who I was going to vote for, and I don't know who's a Traitor - any of them could win at this stage.

Who would you like to win? If that's different at all.

Any of them really. I think they all warrant it in different ways. Everyone's got their own way of doing it which is unique to them and so good luck to them all.

What three words would you use to sum up the experience?

Joyous, Thrilling, Infuriating

Miranda Hart was the fifth Faithful murdered by the Traitors

What was the experience like for you?

I absolutely LOVED it. Please can I do it again?! I am sure for many the idea of doing it is a hard no for a number of reasons – it’s an intense experience and being idiotic and vulnerable on international television isn’t for everyone! – but for me it combined so much of what I love. The landscape, games, playing, being part of a team, deep and fun connection with people, being able to look down a camera and have a chat from time to time.

I could go on. But when I say it was intense, it REALLY was – way more than I expected. I understand now why you become close to people on shows like it.

Was the game everything you imagined it to be?

The actual game was much harder than I thought it would be. And much more all-consuming. I didn’t consider that I could think of nothing else but the game from the minute I woke up, to even during my dreams at night. One night I dreamt that I married Michael Sheen, so that was fun! It’s a fantastic game, you get completely hooked, and you want to work it out at a surprisingly desperate level. But of course, there are so many different angles and spins to look at things, which is why it is so hard.

Were you happy being a Faithful?

I surprised myself that I wanted to be a Faithful. I would have thought, when watching the show as a fan, that I would have been pleading Claudia to make me a Traitor. But when thinking about playing it myself, the fun seemed to be hunting down rather than being hunted and being part of a bigger team. I always hoped I would find my faithful alliances that would make that more fun too, which I did in Rob, James B and Michael.

You described yourself as a psychological sleuth in the Gold chat - were you able to put that to good practice in the game?

I was the worst sleuth ever in the end! So sure I had it nailed and then having to do complete U-turns. Agatha Christie would have been turning in her grave – you’re welcome for the tremendous pun. Although I was right about Richard and felt I led the charge with Hannah. I was getting closer with my attempt at psychological sleuthing but too late.

The night before I was murdered I suddenly remembered Rob was sure Joanne wasn't a Traitor, so therefore the movement in the blindfold mission had to have been Maya, and I remembered James A and Maya voting for Julie rather than Hannah without much evidence or speaking up. I was SO CLOSE to being able to whisper to James B and Michael that I thought I had got them.

You were suspicious of Richard even before he announced himself as a Traitor, what was it about him that you suspected?

Okay, I am going to bring quantum physics into my answer. Bear with! The only thing I know about quantum physics is that it has told us that our thoughts are matter which is why we can get good or bad vibes off people, sense moods. There actually is a felt consciousness between us. Mindblowing! If I didn’t understand that before, then I did sitting next to Richard because all I can say is that I literally felt the fizz of excitement coming off his body, even before I took the blindfold off. I just KNEW he had got his wish to be a Traitor.

Let’s talk about the Missions - did you have a favourite?

I loved the missions. I love swimming so the first one on the shipwreck was amazing to be in the water in a loch in that landscape. I think, weirdly, I am going to say being buried alive was my favourite! Because it cemented my friendship with serene Michael Sheen – sharing a grave with someone will make or break a relationship… The one I hated, and I am still cross about to this day is the puzzle shield making blindfold one – had I been any good at puzzles and built myself a shield I could have avoided murder that night and starting accusing Maya. Yup, still annoyed about it!

And the cabin mission - how was that for you and your reaction to the smell?

That smell was beyond... I am not sure quite how to describe it. Faecal. That’s all I can say. And my body did not respond well. I thought it was just going to be retching but it wouldn’t stop, and I left some of my insides in that cabin. I do remember also half laughing as I was retching because Julie started retching as she retches when she sees someone retching. Retch catching was happening.

Do you think you played with your heart or your head?

A bit of both I think. It’s almost impossible for the heart not to come into it even though you know you should try and take emotion out of it. If Joe Lycett had murdered me in plain sight and shouted he was a Traitor I still wouldn’t have believed it – I was blinded by love there. At one point I was so worried that Michael might not be my new best friend that I feared he was a Traitor. But generally I tried to keep my head on, it just wasn’t a very good head for the game.

Do you think Hannah lying about what happened in the crypt cemented your suspicions of her?

I was suspicious when she came into the breakfast room. She seemed different and was giving less information away. But you are always wary of how wrong those gut instincts go so I just kept an eye and was lucky that I was in the car when she was sharing about the crypt mission because suddenly at the Round Table I clocked that a couple of things she said didn’t add up. And then I knew with certainty. You see, I can sleuth…

Was it easy to get swayed in voting at the Round Table - I know you were upset you voted Julie instead of Hannah because of James Blunt?

I voted for Julie because I saw we weren’t going to get the votes for Hannah that night because James B was leading the way for Julie, which meant others could jump on that. But I was suspicious of Julie so that’s why I also voted for her. Michael and I looked at each other before the vote and we both knew we were going to do the same – go Julie instead of Hannah to make sure there was a majority vote for one of our suspicions. But I wanted to have voted for Hannah because I knew she was a Traitor and then we could have started again the next day and possibly not lost Julie.

Who did you feel closest to? Was there someone you trusted more than others?

I was closest to Michael, Joe and James B. And Kenny was my other 100 percent Faithful. I was blinded there as I didn’t consider he could have been recruited. I trusted Michael and James B completely. And I fell in love with Joe – my new on-screen husband!

Was it hard voting for friends?

I sort of forgot that some people might take it personally because it’s not something that would bother me knowing it’s a game. I did feel terrible when we voted Faithfuls out, but I was too immersed in the game to find it hard to vote for them – I was trying to be Miss Marple... Though the Round Table isn’t easy for sure.

Did you ever think Big Mix would be a thing and you’d be taught the moves to a Little Mix song?! Did you ever think it might be a Traitorous distraction?

I love Leigh-Anne so much for making my Big Mix wish come true. Though I would like to apologise to all viewers for the dance – bosoms as menopausally wobbly as mine should not have been doing those moves. However, I would like to say to Little Mix that I am available and will go into training…. When Michael suggested it could have been the way I had been murdered in plain sight I did in part want that to be true – what a way to go!

What’s been your proudest achievement?

I think just getting there and being part of it full stop. I have missed doing television so much and it has been a very hard road to get to a place after restricting long term illness to be fit enough to do something again.

Do you think you’ve learnt anything about yourself taking part in this game?

I think you will always go away from something as intense and unusual an experience as this learning something. I learnt many things, or rather relearnt. One being never judge a book by its cover and be open to being wrong about your first judgement about someone. Secondly, that however assured people come across we are all vulnerable, have needs, and ultimately desire to be kind, so look for the good in people and treat them how you want to be treated.

Make time for people rather than always looking after your own interests socially – that’s a big one. And finally, it has cemented my hatred of the smart phone because the joy of being with people without their phones – we talked and connected in a way I remember when I was younger. We need to put those darn things away.

Would you leave the other players with any words of motivation as they continue the search for the Traitors?

Remember my bouncing floor theory is what I would shout at them!

Who are you tipping to go far or even win?

If Michael can avoid getting murdered then he could go far and possibly win.

And who would you like to see win if that’s different?

I just want a Faithful to win, that’s my main desire.

What three words might you use to sum up your experience?

Fun, moving, bizarre.

As you were murdered, you didn’t get to say goodbye or give a speech to the other players revealing your Faithfulness. If you could do that now, what would you say to them?

I think it’s a good thing that I wasn’t banished because my speech would have ended up being emotional and mushy. I would have told them how precious the connection and the joy and playfulness had meant after years of not being able to experience that, knowing that they are the most important things in life. And then no doubt the floodgates would have opened. I also would have tried to extend the reveal of what I was an absurdly long time. Anything for some more airtime!

Celebrity Traitors finishes next Friday, October 30, on BBC One. 

Interviews supplied by BBC