The brutal way contestants leave The Traitors after being banished or murdered

A season one contestant on The Traitors has revealed what it’s really like to take part in the hit ITV show - including what actually happens after you’re ‘murdered’.

Earlier this month we saw a new lineup of Faithfuls and Traitors head to the Scottish Highlands to take part in the battle of decency and deception for the second series of The Traitors. The brilliant Claudia Winkleman and her super-shiny fringe returned as host of the morality game show, where contestants try to scheme their way to £120,000.

Alex Gray was one of the most memorable characters from the first season of The Traitors, particularly as she was in a secret relationship with fellow contestant Tom - and the TV presenter had a bumpy ride on the show. Originally a Faithful, she was then nearly recruited by the Traitors. When she declined, she was murdered.  

Alex told Cosmopolitan UK: "When you're banished, you're whisked away in a car and put on a plane back home. When you're murdered, you're told the next morning when the others go to breakfast. You're not told anything [about who the Traitors are]. Then you're obviously at home worrying about the edit and what's going to make the cut, how it's going to come across. You're reliving it, and it's interesting because you have your own memory of it. Viewers only see an hour of the edit each day, and it's weird seeing it condensed down."

Alex also revealed that to prepare for the role, she read up on the psychology of lying. "I bought two books online about the psychology of lying, but essentially learned that it's actually very hard to tell if someone's lying to you or not," she explained. Super helpful! There isn't really anything that could prepare you for that - I tried to watch a couple of episodes of The Traitors Netherlands but they didn't have subtitles."

The season one contestant also praised the authenticity of the show, explaining: "We didn't know where the castle was, what it looked like, or what the challenges were going to be. Nothing was scripted and nothing was premeditated - it was all very authentic."

The Traitors UK season 2 continues on Wednesday 17th January at 9pm.