The Traitors star Theo Mayne opened up about behind-the-scenes secrets fans would never know, including two staple segments that take hours to film

BBC’s The Traitors has welcomed a new group of Faithfuls and Traitors into Ardross Castle, for another season full of twists and turns.

First hitting UK screens in 2022, the reality game show features 22 contestants competing to win a huge prize of up to £120,000. To win the life-changing cash, the cast must identify and eliminate the hidden Traitors amongst them. If a Traitor successfully deceives their way into the final, they steal the entire prize pot.

Over the last two seasons, the crucial roundtable scenes, where contestants convene to vote off their fellow competitors, have been known to leave participants emotional.

Although the tense segments take up a short stint of the hour-long episodes, viewers may be surprised to learn that filming can last for hours.

The Traitors’ roundtable scenes take longer to film than fans would believe ( 
Image:
BBC)

Speaking to Screen Time about what fans may be shocked to discover about the reality show, former star Theo Mayne revealed: “Filming roundtables can last up to two or three hours.”

The 28-year-old cheerleading coach and stage actor was a Faithful in the first season of The Traitors. Theo’s time on the show ended abruptly during a roundtable discussion, where he was voted out by Traitor Amanda Lovett, who had previously claimed to trust him.

Although he left the series after nine episodes, he vividly recalls that the room where they filmed the scenes felt “morbid” and was “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 joked.

The Traitors is back for season three ( 
Image:
BBC)
Revealing another segment that viewers catch a glimpse of, he continued: “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.”

Even though he found some days to be “draining,” Theo fondly remembers his time in the Scottish Highlands. “The days were long and draining but for me, it was an experience and I treasured every moment,” he concluded.

Season one was ultimately won by Faithfuls Meryl Williams, Hannah Byczkowski and Aaron Evans, while season two saw Traitor Harry Clark take home £95,000.