Actor Mark Bonnar says being on The Celebrity Traitors was ‘kind of unnerving’
By Casey Cooper-Fiske and Lauren Del Fabbro, PA
Scottish actor Mark Bonnar has said being on The Celebrity Traitors was “kind of unnerving”.
The first episode of the BBC reality gameshow aired on Wednesday night with host Claudia Winkleman welcoming 19 stars to the Scottish Highlands, where after an interview process she appointed broadcaster Jonathan Ross, comedian Alan Carr and singer Cat Burns as the traitors.
Speaking about his time filming the show, the 56-year-old told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It is kind of unnerving.
“It’s very, very intense, especially when the traitors have been chosen you’re aware that the game has started, you’re aware that you have no idea if anybody is who they say they are, you try to make your mind up about people but it’s very difficult to discern.”
Bonnar said he had already seen the first episode at a screening last week which “girded our loins for what was to come”, but added he had also watched the first episode with his wife and two children, saying: “It was great seeing it through their eyes.”
He continued: “Tonight, of course, is a different matter because none of us knows what’s coming. Well, I know what’s coming, but I don’t know how it’s going to be presented.
“But, I mean, all you can do is kind of try and behave yourself while you’re there and hopefully, hopefully nothing bad shows up on the cameras.”
The Line Of Duty actor said the show was “quite stressful”, adding: “What is a great release are the tasks, that’s the most wonderful part. I’m sure you saw last night I was pulling and pushing a two-and-a-half ton Trojan horse for 30 minutes which was something else but that’s a bit of a release.
“You get to kind of bond as a team and then this other intense part starts later on when you get back to the castle.”
Wednesday’s episode began with the celebrities being escorted to the castle before their cars made a U-turn into a cemetery which had each of the stars’ names on a tombstone.
The first challenge saw them dig through their grave in the hopes of finding a shield, protecting them from the first murder.
Of the contestants, six found a shield in their grave, including Ross, former England rugby player and podcaster Joe Marler, comedian Joe Wilkinson, broadcaster Kate Garraway, Welsh singer Charlotte Church and actress Celia Imrie.
The celebrities were later gathered at the round table where Winkleman selected her three traitors.
During the episode the celebrities also completed their first challenge, which involved working as a team to pull a wooden Trojan horse through a number of gates after answering a series of questions and adding £15,000 to the prize pot.
As the contestants celebrated back at the castle, the three traitors were instructed that they must kill in plain sight before the end of the night by finding a “poison black lily” in the castle, rubbing their hands on its pollen and touching the face of the person they want to murder.
The episode ended with Carr rubbing his hands on the poison lily, as the anticipation of whether or not he would successfully complete the task at hand and kill the first faithful built up.
The spin-off series will see the celebrities compete for the chance to win a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.
Other stars in the line-up include comedians Nick Mohammed and Lucy Beaumont, broadcaster Clare Balding, singer Paloma Faith, historian David Olusoga, YouTube star Niko Omilana and actresses Tameka Empson and Ruth Codd.
The series will air two nights a week, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 9pm.
