The Traitors star reveals unseen moment Claudia Winkleman broke character during banishment

The Traitors star Paul Gorton has recalled the moment Claudia Winkleman broke character off-screen after he was banished from the show.

Paul became a fan last series as he whittled away the Faithful with fellow Traitor Harry Clark. However, Harry betrayed his teammate orchestrating his banishment in the eighth episode, securing himself a spot in the final.

He then managed to go one step further, deceiving close friend Mollie Pearce and snatching the catch prize right from under her. Paul however revealed it was when his exit confirmed that Claudia broke character.

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Speaking on the Off The Telly podcast, he said: “I got up and I did get a bit emotional. I was like ‘I love you all and this has been great’ and you know you feel a little lump coming because I know my time is done.

“So as soon as I said I’m a Traitor, I’m not joking, but the room erupted and Claudia broke character. You see her face going ‘oh my God, this is great TV,’ she’s like ‘I’m going to be booked for the third season, a bit of cash’.

“So then I just felt like that’s my final moment, my final bow, my exit and off I go. I’m so glad I did it.”

Podcast host and Gavin and Stacey star Joanne Page said: “It was incredible, incredible.” While EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy replied: “It was great you did it.”

The Traitors sees two teams, the Traitors and the Faithful, battling it out to win up to £120,000 in cash. The Faithful will have a chance to banish one of the group each day, but could also pay the ultimate price - being “murdered” by the Traitors.

The show has scored favourably with critics and has reportedly pulled-in over 10 million viewers this series. A celebrity edition has already been confirmed, with rumours suggesting there could even be an “all star” version.

It would give Paul a chance to take revenge on his former teammate Harry. Paul, discussing the potential for an All Stars edition with the Daily Star on behalf of Heart Bingo, expressed his enthusiasm: "I'm such an ambassador for the show and I would do anything for the show.

"Sign me up straight away and get Harry back in because I need some revenge on him."

The Traitors returns tonight on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm. The series finale airs at 8.30pm tomorrow night when viewers will discover who will walk away with the cash prize.

Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC says: “Series 3 of The Traitors has brought together an overwhelmingly faithful and growing audience, with more viewers being recruited for that ‘appointment to view’ watching, already at 10m watching episode one so far. It’s the perfect order for January viewing and this series has brought even more twists and turns to keep us all guessing.”