Former Traitors entrant Paul Morton has spoken honestly about what conditions for the Faithfuls and Traitors are like on the BBC show
09:54, 16 Jan 2026
A former contestant on The Traitors has lifted the lid on what it is really like to appear on the hit BBC programme.
Paul Gorton appeared in the 2024 series of the show, with the Manchester-based business manager ultimately being betrayed by fellow Traitor, and eventual winner, Harry Clark.
As the latest series continues to grip viewers, Paul has spoken in greater detail about the behind-the-scenes experience faced by contestants, describing it as being “suspended from reality”.
Paul compared life in the castle to an existence detached from the outside world, revealing that competitors are issued with basic phones and can spend hours at the show’s infamous round table.
Speaking to The i, Paul said: “You are suspended from reality, it's like the world outside doesn't exist. The suspension of time is hardest at the round table.
“The round table scenes could take two hours to film, or it could be four hours — I couldn't say. Time passes slowly or fast depending on how stressed you are.”
Paul also revealed that contestants’ access to technology is heavily restricted, with participants only given so-called “brick phones” containing emergency contacts and numbers for production staff.
He added: “It's like a post-apocalyptic tale where the last people left on Earth are the 22 people in a castle in Scotland. You forget about literally everything at home. Every now and again it can bleed through and it cuts you like a knife.”
Following his exit from the show in 2024, Paul has since gone on to co-host a true-crime podcast with the man who betrayed him, Harry.
His comments come as The Traitors continues through its fourth series and cements itself as a major fixture in the British television landscape.
Paul is not the only former contestant to have spoken openly about life inside the castle. Series one Faithful Dr Amos Ogunkoya previously told the BBC that participants’ time on the show felt like “a really nice holiday camp — until the round table”.
She added: “Most of the day we’re just learning about each others lives and so you become really close to everyone there.”
Meanwhile, fellow Faithful Matt Harris described how closely players’ movements are monitored throughout filming.
He said: “You're not allowed out of sight from the cameras so you can't walk around the grounds. They set up the rooms like the library and bar especially for the show and you're told by producers which rooms you can go into.”