Traitors winners reflect on their part in hit TV show

The Traitors winner Hannah Byczkowski said prize money from the series was more than she could have wished for.

The stand-up comedian, from Stoke-on-Trent, said she had not had a day off for about six months after appearing on the show.

She and fellow contestants Aaron Evans, Wilf Webster and Meryl Williams reunited in Byczkowski's home town to reflect on their experience.

Before the contest started, she thought she had "no chance in hell" of winning.

"I don't really care that much about money, I just want to be comfortable and not worry about things," the comedian explained in a BBC Radio Stoke Special.

"It is actually like a luxury to say 'I don't have any debt and I am comfortable' and that is more than I could ever wish for."

Evans, Byczkowski and Williams each took home a share of the £101,050 prize pot, while Traitor Webster was banished in the finale.

Since the programme Williams said she had saved the money, but has quit her job and become self-employed, while Evans said it had opened up new opportunities for him.

Byczkowski said: "We're all obviously recognisable now and everybody knows who we are, which is a very weird thing to come to terms with.

"But everybody kind of thinks that once the show's finished you ride the wave and it is all gravy forever, but the hard work starts when the show ends."

The reality BBC TV hit, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, is due to return in early 2024 and will be accompanied by The Traitors: Uncloaked on BBC Two and iPlayer.

The first series brought together 22 players at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands.

Upon arrival, three were secretly told they were traitors. The other contestants - known as faithfuls - had to root them out, provided they could survive themselves.

The traitors could "murder" one player every night, removing them from the game.

Webster said he had known as soon as he had seen Winkleman the series was going to be "big", but Byczkowski added: "I don't think I knew until it came out.

"Everybody was very, very excited about it, weren't they," she said.

"The good thing about it is that we didn't really know what to expect."

The series has had 34 million views on BBC iPlayer and a third series has already been confirmed.

It scooped a host of awards including a Bafta and a National Television Award and was the BBC's highest-rated new entertainment series since at least 2017 for young audiences.

However, watching future series will be "weird", said Byczkowski.

"I don't think it is going to be as good," she said.