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Celebrity Traitors star Maya Jama has admitted it was a 'stupid decision' to recruit James Acaster and Hannah Fry as she shared some behind-the-scenes secrets from her time in the castle.
The Love Island host, 32, has been embracing her inner villain as one of the Traitors on the BBC show, and so far has avoided any suspicion from the Faithfuls.
Maya was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman as a Traitor alongside Richard E Grant, but the veteran actor made a huge slip-up that led to him becoming the first player to be banished.
In a video shared on TikTok, Maya confessed she had no idea that both James and Hannah had said they didn't want to be Traitors, and if she'd known she would never have suggested to Richard they recruit them.
She said: 'I think enough time's passed and I can talk about some stuff without it being a spoiler.
'So starting with this, I had no idea that James and Hannah didn't want to be a Traitor because what you're seeing on TV is the interview with Claudia, and obviously if I knew that I would never have agreed to recruit them because that's just stupid.
Celebrity Traitors star Maya Jama has admitted it was a 'stupid decision' to recruit James Acaster and Hannah Fry as she shared behind-the-scenes secrets from her time in the castle
The Love Island host has been embracing her inner villain as one of the Traitors, and during the series' first episode she enlisted comedian James (pictured) to join her
'I get it, we're making the best of a bad situation at this point, and I am stressed.'
Sharing her experience on the show, Maya added: 'As you can tell I was trying to have fun but it is intense and when you are a Traitor you're going to bed late because you're in the turret.
'So I was on minimal sleep from day one because I'm the only OG left.
'And I didn't even wash my hair! From episode four, I hadn't washed my hair because I had no time in the mornings. I wanted more sleep than I wanted to do glam.'
Maya also reflected on the moment viewers saw her unknowingly walk into the room while Sebastian Croft was discussing whether she was a Traitor.
She said: 'Because there are so many things that you don't know.
'Conversations that were happening behind your back. Me walking in on Bash talking about me. No idea. And yeah, it's just, it's such a wild, wild.'
Maya was nominated to be a Traitor on the second series of the much-loved show and has so far remained in the game.
In a video shared on TikTok, Maya confessed she had no idea that both James and Hannah had said they didn't want to be Traitors
Yet it's been reported that behind the scenes, things are not quite so harmonious between the celebrities.
The Daily Mail has shared that when the cameras stop rolling, contestants on the BBC One show are still 'at one another's throats' as the tension and 'utter paranoia' between them spills over into real life.
Sources say that unlike last year's celebrity version of the programme, when the line up had fun and enjoyed it, this time it became extremely stressful behind the scenes.
Traitors insiders suggest that wrong decisions at the round table when two Faithfuls were sent home sparked the paranoid behaviour.
On Thursday, US actress Myha'la, star of BBC One's Industry, was banished and on Friday, former Coronation Street favourite Julie Hesmondhalgh was sent home in a shock decision – rather than mathematician Professor Hannah Fry, a Traitor.
A show insider told The Mail on Sunday: 'The tension is coming across on screen, but it was just as bad if not worse when the cameras stopped rolling.
'It is a tense environment, and they are cut off from the outside world; it is hard for them to switch off even when they head back to their individual lodgings.
'They were constantly thinking about the game.'
Even funnyman Rob Beckett surprised his co-stars, with high energy behaviour which was at times hard for the others to deal with while filming in Scotland early in the summer.
The source added: 'They were all making each other more stressed out. A lot of them just couldn't hack it, I'm not sure what they thought they were signing up to.
'One contestant really lost their nerve at one point and their co-stars were absolutely stunned.
'And Rob, who is usually so funny, really struggled at points and surprised the others with his behaviour. They put it down to the fact that things were so tense.'
Another source said that some on the show, which also stars Ross Kemp, Miranda Hart, Maya and Jerry Hall, struggled to remember it was just a game.
The pressure became so intense for comedian James Acaster, who was recruited as a Traitor in the second episode, that filming had to be paused.
The 41-year-old became 'very anxious' on set in Ardross Castle and some of the other contestants were forced to speak up and insist the cameras stop rolling.
BBC bosses later stressed that the welfare of contestants was a priority.
Viewers of the game show have watched as Acaster has become increasingly distressed on screen, repeating: 'I'm not good at lying.'
The stand-up comic expressed his wish to remain a Faithful on the show.
Faithful Kemp – best known for playing hardman Grant Mitchell on EastEnders – has entertained viewers by becoming increasingly paranoid when other cast members touch him.
And it wasn't just the celebrities feeling the stress.
During filming, their teams were kept completely in the dark and had no contact with their clients until they exited the game.
Agents and publicists have no say in what is shown and can only hope their clients get a good edit.
English (US) ·