The Traitors: Contestant Aisha from Manchester on what it was like to be on the hit BBC reality TV show

Aisha, who is currently training to be a teacher, spoke about the intense atmosphere on the show which gripped audiences in the run-up to Christmas and what it is like to be a well-known face from the TV.
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It’s the programme that had TV audiences gripped in the run-up to Christmas - and now the Manchester contestant on BBC gameshow The Traitors has spoken about her involvement in the television hit.

Viewers have been glued to their screens as the 22 contestants in a castle in the Scottish Highlands had to work out who among them were the faithful and who were the traitors.

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Among those who had been hoping to triumph was Aisha Birley, a Master’s graduate from Prestwich in Greater Manchester.

While Aisha’s bid for glory in The Traitors was ultimately unsuccessful, she shared just what it was like to take part in such an intense and gripping programme, how she got on with the other contestants and what it is like to be on a programme watched by millions of people.

How did Aisha get to take part in The Traitors and what happened to her on the programme?

Aisha said she’d been interested in being part of a TV show and when she was told about The Traitors, a new gameshow which had never previously been done in the UK, she was intrigued about the new format.

She said: “I thought it sounded really good. I had just graduated and split from my boyfriend and thought: ‘what have I got to lose?’ I thought it would be a chance to try something different.

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“We went to the Scottish Highlands, where I had never been before, and were then with 21 other people we had never met. There’s no show out there like it and we didn’t knowwhat to expect.

“After I had been back a while my family said it was wild that I had just gone off to do this show we knew nothing about. We were just: ‘Let’s go to Inverness and see what happens’.”

Aisha (left) with The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman  and fellow contestants Rayan and Andrea. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara PlazaAisha (left) with The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman  and fellow contestants Rayan and Andrea. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza
Aisha (left) with The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman and fellow contestants Rayan and Andrea. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza

The idea of The Traitors is that 22 contestants were taken to Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands where they competed for a pot of up to £120,000 in a game of deduction, skill and trust.

The contestants had to complete a number of challenges while the traitors - who were known to the TV viewers - eliminated players from the game without getting caught or arousing suspicion. The faithful also voted people off as they tried to uncover the traitors’ identities. The programme comes down to a high-stakes finale as if faithful players are left at the end they share the jackpot, but if a traitor is still involved they take all the cash for themselves.

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Unfortunately for Aisha she only got to take part in one challenge before the traitors ‘murdered’ her.

If you haven’t yet seen the programme, all episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

What was the experience of being on The Traitors like?

Aisha said her time in the castle was intense but enjoyable with experiences and opportunities she would never have had outside of the TV programme.

She also revealed that while the programme ramps up the tension as the players try to work out who is a traitor and who isn’t, away from the cameras and the betrayals they actually got on extremely well and have stayed in contact since filming finished.

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Aisha said: “It was so good and such a weird, surreal experience. You all want to be friendsand get to know each other but in the back of your mind you know this is a game and you don’t know if you can trust these people.

“You are trying to figure out who the traitors are and trying not to act like a traitor if you are a faithful. You also have to work together doing these extraordinary missions which are things you wouldn’t do in your everyday life.

“There was also such a big age range on the show, the youngest contestant was early 20s and the oldest was in their 70s. All of us young people might normally associate with each other but the older contestants were amazing people I would never normally be friends with.

“We’ve all stayed in touch since it was filmed, we’ve seen each other and gone out. Certain things have been spoken about, particularly the missions, because you want to know what went on after you left.

Aisha (wearing the red headband) taking part in hit BBC show The Traitors. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara PlazaAisha (wearing the red headband) taking part in hit BBC show The Traitors. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza
Aisha (wearing the red headband) taking part in hit BBC show The Traitors. Photo: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza
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“People want to message you afterwards saying they are sorry they did what they did. I was really close to one of the traitors, so for them to then murder me it was like: ‘I thought we were friends’. People sent messages saying someone had to go from the programme and they didn’t mean anything, it was a game.

“Every day I think if I should have done this or that. I wish I had been more coy, spoken less and observed more. To do well you’ve got to think about who the traitors are, not say anything then try to be friendly with them.

“There were also many moments I remember when we would all be singing and dancing. Because of the nature of the show and how intense it is there are people betraying and backstabbing, but there were so many times when we were all just getting along. If it comes back I would love for there to be a spin-off show so people can see our personalities as we were not always all at each other’s necks.”

Aisha also said that if she had stayed on the show long enough to get to the stage where the traitors attempted to recruit faithful into their ranks she would have accepted their offer.

What was seeing the success of the show on TV like?

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As this was the first time The Traitors has been made there were question marks about how well it would do alongside more established reality TV programmes and game shows where the format is already well known. However, in the end it has been a hit for the BBC, with millions of viewers tuning in to see the drama unfold.

And that means Aisha, like the rest of the contestants, is having to get used to being well known to the public.

She said: “It has definitely been a surreal experience. There have been a lot of people talking about the show, some of the comments are really positive and some are really negative.

“There’s such a large fanbase of people who would be livetweeting along with us in the cast while each episode was on. On social media I’ve had people messaging me saying what big fans they are.

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“I’ve had people messaging me for videos, on Christmas Eve people were asking if I could send a message to their mum saying merry Christmas. Even being out and about in Manchester people stop you and ask for a picture.

“When you do this kind of thing you don’t really think about or know how much the public is going to love it. It has been so well received and that is amazing.”

Aisha is currently training to be a secondary school English teacher but says she has not ruled out returning to the TV screen at some point in the future. However, she said she would want to go on a reality TV show which was more laid-back than the tension of The Traitors.