The Traitors star exposes 'horrible' moment Claudia Winkleman 'broke character'

A former participant on The Traitors has revealed a moment when Claudia Winkleman "shouted" at producers during a gruelling challenge.

The hugely popular murder mystery game show has made its return with 22 players assuming the roles of Faithfuls and Traitors.

Previously, two groups of Faithfuls have walked away with the £120,000 prize pot, whilst the ultimate Traitor Harry Clark deceived and manipulated his way to victory in series two.

The tense roundtables and ruthless game play have frequently resulted in emotional breakdowns, revelations and contestants breaking down in tears.

However, it has now emerged that Claudia was equally invested in the challenges as the players, as they endeavoured to accumulate the prize fund under her watchful gaze.

Zack Davies was a Faithful eliminated during the programme's second series, and has now recounted an incident in which the former Strictly Come Dancing presenter "broke character", reports Wales Online.

Speaking on behalf of Betway, he revealed: "She's always presented as very mysterious, stoic, and maybe even a bit cold, but in reality, she's a really warm person.

"There was this one challenge where we had to crawl around in mud and rotten vegetables inside this dark, freezing house.

"It was absolutely horrible. A real nightmare, especially if you're claustrophobic or a bit germophobic like me. I genuinely hated that challenge.

"By the end, we were all shivering, completely freezing, just waiting to line up for a shot.

"Claudia was standing in front of us, and suddenly started shouting at the producers to get us towels. She was really adamant that they get them.

"It looked like we were going to go into hypothermic shock, so she broke character and her warm, human side came shining through."

Claudia has previously acknowledged how emotionally involved she becomes in the game, and is regularly captured on camera rallying the contestants, encouraging them to pick up the pace and expressing the nation's joy at memorable moments, from Celia Imrie's well-wailing scene to Alexander Dragonetti's woodland operatics.

Before the fourth series aired, she confessed that despite being part of the challenges, she would never attempt them herself.

She said: "Absolutely not. I have never actually moved fast and my favourite thing to do is lie down. However, I am absolutely on their side and really want them to do well. It's like at my kids' sports days, but on steroids."

When questioned about her standout moments from the series, she responded: "I have too many to mention but I'll try and answer. I love watching them at breakfast. The second they walk in and react to each other over a plate of sliced cheese is fascinating to me.

"I love the bonding and the excitement of the missions but the round table is probably the bit I get most excited about. Watching how they play, it's addictive."

Despite her deep involvement in the missions, Claudia has perfected her ability to maintain composure, revealing: "I think the orange fake tan helps. This might sound ridiculous but we all take the game seriously and if I mess it up with my face then it's not fair on the players.

"My youngest child watched a bit of last series and said that I pulled my "you have to do your homework" face. That's pretty much it."

The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and continues next Wednesday at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.