Claudia Winkleman on The Traitors and Meryl on GMB with ED exclusive badge
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The Traitors star Meryl admits Claudia Winkleman gets ‘so immersed’ in show: ‘It must be hard for her’

Claudia is "so immersed" in the show, Meryl said

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Former The Traitors star Meryl Williams has opened up about what Claudia Winkleman was like behind the scenes.

Series two of the BBC show is airing at the moment and winning over millions of viewers each week.

Meryl appeared in the first series of The Traitors, and has now spoken about her time on the show including her relationship with host Claudia.

The Traitors series 1 star Meryl on GMB
The Traitors series 1 star Meryl has gushed over host Claudia Winkleman (Credit: ITV)

Claudia Winkleman on The Traitors

Meryl was speaking to Sky Vegas exclusively for Entertainment Daily. She said of Claudia: “[Claudia Winkleman and I] we don’t talk regularly but sometimes she’ll reply back to something I posted my story on Instagram.

She was so immersed in the show, which makes a big difference.

“Obviously, we had a lot of interviews and press with her after the show. The finalists went down to her Friday at BBC Radio 2 and she was at the NTAs, the National Television Awards. She’s really, really involved.

“She was so immersed in the show, which makes a big difference. A lot of times you see presenters just kind of doing the job and they go back off where she was fully in it.”

Meryl added: “It must have been hard for her knowing what was happening and then having to take a step back. She’s always supported us. She pops up when it’s your birthday and to say happy birthday.”

Claudia Winkleman in suit on The Traitors
Meryl said Claudia becomes “so immersed” in the show (Credit: BBC)

Elsewhere, Meryl went on to talk about her time on The Traitors, including behind the scenes secrets.

She revealed the truth behind her friendship with Hannah Byczkowski. She told us: “I think there’s a lot of conversations happening at once and they zoom into specific conversations. But then obviously there’s lots of other conversations happening but there’s only an hour of screen time. So there’s lots of conversations that happened off camera or that are not shown in the one hour episode.

“In terms of friendships, as well, you don’t actually realise how close specific people are because it’s not often shown.

“So you’ll see someone saving that person but they’re never ever sitting together. For example, me and Hannah [Byczkowski] were friends the whole way through. But apparently we only started being friends on episode six but we were always close.

Paul smiling on The Traitors
Paul is a Traitor on the show (Credit: BBC)

Paul on The Traitors

“There are lots of different storylines to show so I definitely think the characters and their personalities aren’t 100% shown.”

Speaking about the second series, airing currently, Meryl discussed Traitor Paul – who has ruffled some feathers among viewers with his “crocodile tears”.

Discussing Paul’s behaviour as a Traitor, Meryl said: “I think a lot of people are going to start seeing through it [Paul’s crying] because I think it’s going to be too much.

“Some people cry and that’s fine but he’s gone down the sympathy route and people are feeling sorry for him. I think a lot of people are going to start clicking on and I think Jaz will maybe become a lot stronger with his opinions on Paul.

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“But it depends how he comes across. He just needs to build his allies because I think people are starting to see through it.”

Read more: The Traitors viewers convinced Diane will return to show after ‘murder’: ‘Her revenge will be bloody’

The Traitors continues tonight from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Do you enjoy The Traitors? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.


Rebecca Carter
Associate Editor (News)