The Traitors is the gameshow everyone’s obsessed with, but contestant Ivan Brett is conscious of how the ‘suspicious’ players are identified.
Game lover Ivan, 33, joined 21 strangers for the adventure of a lifetime on Claudia Winkleman’s new BBC series, which challenges players’ perceptions of others and their trust.
With a £120,000 prize fund up for grabs, it’s understandable why participants will do anything to go the distance, as Faithfuls must banish the Traitors before the end, all while avoiding being murdered themselves.
However, following his banishment after being wrongfully accused of being a Traitor, author Ivan said his ‘fidgeting’ shouldn’t have been a cause of suspicion.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, the TV star revealed he is currently pursuing an ADHD diagnosis.
‘I think there’s an interesting question to be asked about people seeming different or seeming suspicious for different things. So, a lot of the accusations aimed at me were to do with over-proving, fidgeting, shuffling… but I have always stood out from crowds,’ he began.
‘I’ve always been somebody who would have teachers point to me like, “You’re the naughty one!”, and I never was.’
He added: ‘I’m currently going through the process of being diagnosed for ADHD. And I think a lot of reasons why I’m picked out for things in my life is because I do come across as a little bit different, which I now tend to use to my advantage.’
While Ivan doesn’t blame any of his fellow players for their actions under the highly-intense gameshow atmosphere, and admits he also played a role, he’s certainly picked up on things when watching back on TV.
‘There’s a discussion to be had about people we believe are doing things wrong and how we differentiate that between people who are just different.’
Ivan also shared his pride over the show’s raw depiction of male mental health, particularly after Aaron Evans had a panic attack during a roundtable.
‘Men being able to cry on-screen is an amazing thing and I’m very proud that I did have a cry during the show because I’m a big crier,’ Ivan said.
He went on to say he’s ‘incredibly proud’ of Aaron for how he ‘lived’ his anxiety on-screen.
The support for Aaron – and for other contestants following emotional scenes – he says has also been wonderful as, despite playing against one another, all the contestants wanted to be there for each other.
‘It would be so much better if we could all have dialogues about how people react in stressful situations and how we can help them.’
Ivan later became tearful himself during our interview, recalling his late mum’s love of games and how she inspired him throughout his time on the show.
‘I lost my mum almost two years to the day before I started on the show and everything about games I got from her. Games, for me, was my mum.’
And after reading one tweet from a fan in particular, who has used the show to get through their cancer treatment, Ivan felt incredibly touched.
‘I feel so proud of us that we are giving a wonderful escape to people who are having a big struggle.’
But when it comes to social media commentary on the players, Ivan has a word of advice.
‘The partisan support for me, while really appreciated, is balanced out by other negative responses to other people.’
He concluded: ‘It’s really important for people to remember that we’re all just playing roles and those roles are accentuated by how little of the game is aired.’
The Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
