Celebrity Traitors star Jonathan Ross has spilled the truth on what happens when the cameras stop rolling and revealed the cast felt ‘claustrophobic’ towards the end of filming.
The TV presenter, 64, recently confessed that the BBC show’s executives have issued the stars with a long list of topics that they are not allowed to discuss.
But that hasn’t stopped Jonathan from sharing more behind-the-scenes show secrets with his followers – including that all technology is taken off them and they have to stick a laminate under their hotel door whenever they want something.
In the latest episode of his podcast Reel Talk, Jonathan revealed: ‘We are not allowed to keep our phones. We are not allowed to keep our iPads. We do not have any connection to the outside world whatsoever.
‘Those of us who had smart watches on, they were taken away as well, which was understandable because I guess you could connect by WiFi to emails. It serves two purposes – certainly that no one can cheat… not that anyone would have done.
‘For example, say the celebrity version, if someone gets banished or murdered, and the other people in there have their phone number, they would know that the day after, they would have found out who the traitors are. I don’t think anyone would do that, but I suppose it’s good to guard against.
Celebrity Traitors star Jonathan Ross has spilled the truth on what happens when the cameras stop rolling and revealed the cast felt ‘claustrophobic’ towards the end of filming
The TV presenter, 64, recently confessed that the BBC show’s executives have issued the stars with a long list of topics that they are not allowed to discuss
‘But also, it does have the effect of destabilising you a lot. We all found it an incredibly immersive experience. You really get into it, and you feel a bit trapped in it, and I think that’s because you don’t have any of your normal outlets to relieve stress or pressure.
‘You haven’t got your phone to pick up, you can’t check your emails, you don’t know what’s going on outside, you don’t even know what time it is. So I think that forces you to enter into it even more wholeheartedly than you might otherwise, so it’s a pretty smart move.’
Jonathan, who isn’t sure if everyone stayed in the same hotel, added that after spending so much time in their rooms, they started to feel claustrophobic.
‘We all stayed in the same hotel, I believe, but I can’t say that for sure because you never saw who was in which room or where. We stayed at the Inverness Airport Hotel, which was lovely. It was fine. You wouldn’t normally stay there for a few nights at a time, I guess.
‘All of us found towards the end it was a bit claustrophobic, and there wasn’t a bath in the room so the day after we’d done that first challenge where we had to push that enormous Trojan horse up the hill, we all wanted to soak in a hot bath – especially the older people – and we couldn’t, you were standing in a shower instead.
‘The food they made for us was very nice there and they looked after us… I think we were all in the same hotel, but I don’t know. We were completely isolated from one another, and you don’t even have a phone in the room. When you want to order food or talk to somebody about something, you have to stick a laminate under the door.
‘We had TV’s set up. Before they took our phones away, you could put your passwords in for Netflix and Amazon and stuff like that….when you first arrived, before the game began. I had mine set up, and when I had any time off there I would sit and watch House.
‘One day when there was a day off I watched 11 episodes of House back to back. I watched House because it was comforting to watch something I’d seen before, because I was getting more than enough surprises outside.’
That hasn’t stopped Jonathan from sharing behind-the-scenes show secrets – including that all technology is taken off them and they have to stick a laminate under their hotel door whenever they want something
It comes after furious BBC bosses have reportedly given the Celebrity Traitors cast a firm warning after some stars have revealed secrets in breach of their contracts.
Jonathan confessed that the show’s executives have issued the stars with a long list of topics that they are not allowed to discuss.
The TV presenter made the mistake when he revealed that loads of scenes were cut from the final edit and went into detail about some of the more entertaining moments.
Speaking on the Reel Talk podcast on Sunday, Jonathan confessed: ‘It’s nerve-wracking watching it for me.
‘The round tables, of course, because a lot of stuff is edited out and I’m not allowed. I didn’t realise, but I’m not allowed to talk about the stuff that’s edited out, which I can understand why.
‘When I started talking about it last week, they sent us all a kind of list saying, ‘Just to remind you, these are the things in your contracts you’re not allowed to talk about’.
‘So I’ll skirt around it as much as possible and not break any rules. But there’s a fairly comprehensive list, and most of it I can see is to protect the integrity of the game as a viewing experience for people, so it makes perfect sense.’
Given the show’s huge popularity across the UK, the plot is one of the BBC’s biggest kept secrets.
It comes after furious BBC bosses have reportedly given the Celebrity Traitors cast a firm warning after some stars have revealed secrets in breach of their contracts
Despite the stars signing contracts stating they were limited on what they could speak about after starring in the show, Jonathan explained there are brilliant scenes that have not been shown.
The Daily Mail has contacted BBC representatives for a comment.
Speaking last week, he said: ‘Obviously, there’s so much left on the cutting room floor.
‘There are so many moments. There are so many funny things Alan Carr did and said, which I know already should have been the first episode, should have been the second episode.
‘There’s something that happens later on that I know which should be in but isn’t in.
‘And it’s like, there’s this Alan Carr gold waiting out there to be spun into them.’
Actress Ruth Codd also confessed that there was an ‘unseen hierarchy’ on the show.
