BBC The Traitors star says Claudia Winkleman 'broke character' as he was banished from show

The Traitors star Paul Gorton has opened up on the moment Claudia Winkleman lost her cool as he was banished from the BBC show after being betrayed by his fellow teammate

Paul Gorton has recalled the moment Claudia Winkleman broke character in an unseen moment when he was banished from The Traitors.

Paul formed a formidable partnership with Harry Clark as they attempted to take down the Faithful last year. However, Harry eventually betrayed his teammate, orchestrating his banishment in the eighth episode, securing himself a route to the final.

He went one step further, and deceived close friend Mollie Pearce to snatch the cash price. Paul has now opened up about the dramatic moment he revealed he was a Traitor.

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 commented: "It was incredible, incredible." Meanwhile, EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy chimed in with: "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, reports Bristol Live

The series has won audience and critics alike, with 10 million people watching the first episode alone. A celebrity edition has already been confirmed with speculation suggesting there could also 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."