'I'm very competitive and I want to win': Jerry Hall, Richard E Grant and James Blunt open up on their Traitors experience, as she reveals what she told Mick Jagger and what Claudia Winkelman thinks of the line-up

Everything about Jerry Hall is rather grand and swishy. Visually, she was made for a Traitor’s cloak. You can absolutely imagine her sweeping down the castle staircase, all Texan drawl, supermodel cheekbones and rock’n’roll lineage.

But it takes more than elegance and poise to make a winning Traitor – just ask Alan Carr, last year’s champion. Does Jerry, 70, the oldest of this year’s crop of celebrity contestants, have what it takes to triumph? As she heads to the Scottish Highlands, I ask about the parts of her CV we might not know about. Forget the international modelling career or the fact that she’s the woman who (nearly) tamed Mick Jagger. What else in her skillset should we be aware of? Any traits that may prove to be secret weapons?

Blow me, she takes the question very seriously. ‘I’ve got my boat skipper’s licence and my wine-making certificate,’ she begins. ‘I’m in the Guinness Book of World Records, holding the record for performing in the most West End plays in one night. I wore costumes under costumes. It was all carefully worked out, travelling from show to show on the back of a motorcycle. Also, I was a girls’ leg-wrestling champion in my school district growing up – which is very popular in Texas.’

Pardon? ‘I come from a very athletic family,’ Jerry continues. ‘My sister Cyndy was a girls’ champion bull rider and a saddle bronc rider, and my sister Rosy was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. We all used to train horses too.’

Then there’s the men in her life. Only one of them has been a Rolling Stone, it seems. The others have had talents that are much more transferable to a plotting-and-killing setting. ‘All the men in my family have been law enforcement officers and in the military. My father was General Patton’s staff sergeant, so I think I get my organisational skills from him. All my uncles, even my nephews, have been policemen. I think the detective side is in me, so I’d be good at that – a Faithful hunter of Traitors. However, I’d like to be a Traitor. If you’re a Traitor you know all the facts. It’s more powerful.’

If there’s anyone out there who still doesn’t know how the show works, a small group of ‘Traitors’ must work together through a series of missions to eliminate the other contestants, the ‘Faithfuls’, in order to win. If the Faithfuls discover and banish all the Traitors, they win. Let’s hope, for Jerry’s sake, there are some bareback horse riding (possibly on a boat that goes via a vineyard) missions in this new celebrity version. And what fun we’re all going to have waiting for evidence of her leg-wrestling skills.

The list of famous folk whose thighs she could take on is long and dazzlingly eclectic. Do actors Ross Kemp, Michael Sheen and Richard E Grant know what’s about to hit them? Are comedians Miranda Hart, Joe Lycett and Rob Beckett ready for this? Will Professor Hannah Fry have thought to shave her legs as part of her prep to leg-wrestle? Singer James Blunt used to be in the Army – but does he suspect that the magnificent Jerry Hall might have battlefield planning aptitude in her bones?

There are 21 celebrities heading for that Scottish castle, and one thing we establish in today’s rather riotous audience with some of the stars is that Jerry is out to win. She stands head and shoulders above the others here (particularly James Blunt, who’s quite short). ‘Oh yes. I’m very competitive, as is Mick and our children. We love playing games, and everyone always wants to win.

‘If there are teams, we’re then driving each other on in those teams. It would be like, “Why’d you do that? No, you should have done that.” Such determination. I’m going to try to behave myself on the show and be a good sport. I have been completely obsessed with the show.’

What did her four children – and her famous ex – make of it when she told them she’d signed up? ‘My children said, “Mum, don’t do anything dangerous.” They worry. They’re like, “You think you’re younger than you are. You and Dad are always doing things you did in your twenties that maybe you shouldn’t be doing now.”

‘I told Mick that if any of the children had a problem they were to call him because I was busy! I’m the oldest person doing this, but I’m quite an active person. I don’t sit down much. I think I’ll be OK.’

It turns out she’s already got a buddy in the castle, although this means little in Traitor terms (remember that Alan Carr was already friends with poor Paloma Faith when they entered last year, and he had no qualms about murdering her). Jerry reveals that she and Richard E Grant were neighbours for 30 years. ‘And we did a movie together called Tooth where we played tooth fairies, it was ridiculous. We had such a laugh and I went on holiday with him earlier this year, just after Christmas, to Africa. We danced all night. We had so much fun! Little did we know, we’d both be here!’

Yes, it is all very surreal. Richard, 69, has also agreed to some gentle probing before he enters the castle. He also wants to be a Traitor. ‘What’s the programme called?’ he chides when I ask. ‘I would love to be a Traitor. You have no control in real life over anything. Any chance for that would be welcome. And a little bit of mischief is always welcome.’

Hilariously, he calls Jerry and himself ‘the geriatrics of the great group’ and hopes their seniority will work in their favour. ‘I’m hoping there will be some leeway about whether we’re expected to bungee-jump off the castle’s walls,’ he says. Is he as competitive as Jerry? ‘Oh yes. You have to be if you’re an actor. You can’t survive the profession without being so. It’s brutal.’

As to whether his acting skills are going to help, even he doesn’t know. ‘I think it’ll make people more suspicious because they assume you’re a natural-born liar. “Oh you’re an actor, so I can’t believe anything that you say!” But I’ve played so many villains that I assume people will think I’m a bad egg. My weakness will be trying to hide what I feel about somebody, and my strength is that I’m a glass three-quarters full person.’

I’m not sure he stands a chance against Jerry, but Richard seems like a complete darling. He reckons he’s more a team player than a lone wolf (‘my job is entirely about being a team player’), and also that he’s better at telling lies than spotting them. Can he tell me the tallest tale he’s ever told? ‘That I’m a self-assured, confident person,’ he says.

And this, Traitors fans, is why the show works – and has now become an international juggernaut, with versions popping up all over the world. Somewhere beneath all the bluster and showbiz bravado, you have real people going into this castle, with real insecurities and weaknesses, and they have to use all their self-awareness to play the game.

If these interviews are anything to go by, James Blunt, 52, might be one to watch. He’s certainly not lacking in the self-awareness stakes, and seems to know all his strengths and weaknesses. ‘Yeah, it’s really interesting because your public persona is invariably different from who you really are. My public persona is just this really annoying small guy – and I am actually that guy! I think people will think I’m fun and kind of jolly, and there for the laughs. Actually, I’m here for the holiday. I was promised a holiday in Scotland. I’m just here for a lovely walking holiday in the Highlands.’ But you’ve been in the Army, James, which means you know about tactics. He concurs. ‘And I’m excellent at hiding in bushes. I can scurry around in ditches.’

Everyone will surely want him on their team during the more physical missions. ‘They seem the silliest part of the show, don’t they?’ he admits. ‘Really, everything else is quite dark and sinister. And then watching a whole load of adults scurry around in the grass is, well, it’s just the silliest part of it. But at the same time, it’s probably the most innocent, and so at that stage you can just throw yourself into it with abandon, whether you’re a Traitor or a Faithful.’

Bless him, but James actually wants to be a Faithful, rather than a nasty Traitor. ‘I would aspire to be a goody,’ he says. ‘Many may wish to be a Traitor, but I think that’s egos wanting to play a leading role. I aspire just to be a good human being, mainly because I’m really not a good human being. It would be nice to be one for once! My biggest weakness will be that I emit Traitor vibes in everyday life. My biggest strength? I don’t know. I hope to be proactive as a Faithful and a team player in that sense. The Faithfuls do outnumber the Traitors, so if we can actually attempt to unify in some way, then we do have some kind of strength.’

This is all getting a bit United Nations, but it turns out we’re never far from a jaw-dropping confession on this show (let’s face it, it’s part of the attraction). I ask if James is in the habit of playing tactical games at home, and he drops an astonishing anecdote – or, annoyingly, the start of one – about his Hollywood years. ‘I played a similar game in Los Angeles called Werewolf, with werewolves and villagers. I was invited around by Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore to go and play. I got thrown out, but nothing to do with the game.’ Alas, he won’t elaborate on why he was banished. ‘It’s a whole different story!’

Who is responsible for imposing some sort of order in proceedings here? Step forward Claudia Winkleman, who seems to be wearing... actually, we’re not sure what she’s wearing. In the past, our favourite tartan-clad warrior has cited Princess Anne and Ronnie Corbett as sartorial influences on her Traitors look. Who is she channelling this year? ‘It’s gone a little Artful Dodger for this series,’ she says. ‘I borrow a lot of the clothes and the shops and designers were horrified when I asked if we could dip the clothes in tea.’

Claudia was beside herself with excitement when the producers shared this year’s particularly stellar line-up with her. In the year when the Strictly cast list (proceeding without her for the first time) seems particularly meh, The Traitors one is crammed with big names, and even bigger personalities. Surely this is a career win in itself, suggesting she’s backed the correct horse. ‘I couldn’t get over it,’ she admits. ‘My bosses had to repeat the names at least three times.’

Can she give anything away about filming (I speak to her after the show has been filmed, but before broadcast)? Only that there were an extraordinary amount of laughs in this series, perhaps not surprising given the sheer number of comedians. ‘They all made me laugh,’ she says. ‘They are the funniest people on earth. Rob Beckett said something that made me hide in a bush until I composed myself.’

And how did she manage to keep the celebrity cast a secret, given the fact that she knew the full line-up way before they did? ‘Oh, I say absolutely nothing about everything,’ she whispers. ‘I still won’t reveal who won series one. People say, “It’s OK, it’s been on TV,” but still. Nothing from me.’

So, here we go. Saddle up, as Jerry would say. It’s hard to contain our excitement at how this is all going to go. How on earth does Claudia stop her facial expressions giving it all away? ‘An overly long fringe helps,’ she deadpans.

The Celebrity Traitors, Thursday, 8pm, BBC1 and iPlayer.