I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been asked if a story I’ve written is true.
‘I don’t believe it. Did that really happen? That can’t be the full story?’ friends will exclaim as they desperately dig for more showbiz gossip.
It’s a question I find endlessly frustrating.
Obviously for legal reasons I couldn’t publish a story I know to be inaccurate, but on a moral front – do my friends really think I could lie that easily?
As it turns out, they might have a point, as I found out when I played The Traitors Live Experience.
The new immersive game mimics the hit BBC show, with a group of up to 14 players tasked with playing either with – or against – each other to make it to the grand final.
I tried out The Traitors Live Experience – there was treachery, back-stabbing and it was absolute chaos – I would do it all over again! (stock image)
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I signed up for the experience, but as a superfan of the TV show, I had high hopes for what would entail.
Luckily, I wasn’t let down, with my night blindfolded in a London basement surrounded by strangers, everything I could have hoped for.
Prior to the game beginning, the players – in this case, fellow journalists and their plus ones – were given a form to fill out which asked if we would prefer to play as a Traitor or a Faithful.
Emboldened by a pre-game cocktail at the venue’s aptly named Cloak & Dagger bar, and keen not to leave my fate in the hands of journos from rival publications, I apprehensively stated I would like to be a Traitor.
It was then that we were all led down into the basement and into a room that looked just like the famous Round Table on the show.
Having taken our seats we were introduced to our host for the evening – a tartan-clad woman with a playful yet steely demeanour that would’ve made Claudia Winkleman proud.
After a brief video message from Claudia herself, the game began and it was time to learn if we were to be Traitors or Faithfuls.
The first task was to go around the room, state our names and give one reason why we would make a good Faithful – which resulted in pretty much everyone claiming they were a bad liar.
The new immersive game mimics the hit BBC show, with a group of up to 14 players tasked with playing either with – or against – each other to make it to the grand final
Once we all had a chance to suss out our fellow players it was time to put on our blindfolds and learn our fates – were we to be Traitors or were we to be Faithfuls?
Sitting in silence, the host set about circling us like a vulture over a carcass as she tapped the shoulders of the chosen Traitors.
With anticipation at an all time high it felt like the selection process went on forever, and I’d begun to concede that I would be playing as a Faithful, until I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.
Instantly, a shiver went up my spine and I regretted making my choice – I’m a blabbermouth by nature – I knew I’d end up talking myself into trouble.
But there was no time to try and quickly think of tactics because our host informed us that it was time for the Traitors to learn each other’s identities.
The blindfolds that we had to remove to see each other were in fact chunky goggles, and naively, before putting on the goggles I had removed my glasses and left them on the table.
So trying to remove those and retrieve my spectacles in silence, while my fellow players were sat inches away and listening for any sign of movement, proved to be a challenge.
I quickly locked eyes with the Traitors in the room – two men.
Prior to the game beginning, the players – in this case, fellow journalists and their plus ones – were given a form to fill out which asked if we would prefer to play as a Traitor or a Faithful
One of whom was the PR who had informed me earlier that evening that he’d played the game before and was murdered in the first round.
The other had taken so long to remove his goggles that I didn’t initially realise that he was even a Traitor.
It wasn’t boding well so far.
Yet there was no time to dwell on the threat of potential banishment as after all removing our blindfolds and giving each other another once over, it was time to embark on the first mission.
I won’t give away what we had to do – but there was mass confusion and a lot of trial and error before we finally got it right.
Then came time for the first murder.
Back on came the bulky goggles before I and my fellow Traitors attempted to take them off quietly and pick who to murder.
At this point there were no tactics involved in our choice, so we just went for someone who was in our eyeline to be the sacrificial lamb.
Sitting in silence, the host set about circling us like a vulture over a carcass as she tapped the shoulders of the chosen Traitors (stock image)
Then came the moment I’d been dreading – the first banishment.
Still reeling from the murder, the group began to debate who could have been behind it.
While I was safe, one of my fellow Traitors had been busted for making too much noise.
He was sat far away from me and I didn’t want to raise too much suspicion so I didn’t defend him. Although I didn’t vote for him either.
As the votes were cast on whiteboards, it soon became clear he was the hot favourite to be banished and was ousted from the game in a win for the Faithfuls.
While I felt bad for him, I was pleased that I’d managed to avoid detection and nobody suspected me. They had, however, suspected the other remaining Traitor.
Emboldened, we pressed on with the next tricky challenge, before again deciding who to murder and then who to banish (another innocent Faithful).
The cycle continued and I began to get cocky.
There had still been no eyes on me and I had even managed to get rid of a Faithful by convincing the others his reaction to a murder was strangely over the top.
Ultimately, he was banished for being a nice guy.
I won’t give away what we had to do during the missions and challenges but there was mass confusion and a lot of trial and error before we finally got it right
At one point in the experience there were a few players who needed the toilet and they were led off in a group as the rest of us played on.
Knowing the group who nipped out were all Faithful did cause a slight panic – was this part of a tactical game play so they could have a discussion away from the Traitors? Or was it simply the signs of a weak pelvic floor?
To this day, I’ll never know.
But either way, once they returned my luck changed.
My plus one at the event – a friend I have known since childhood – suddenly and unprovoked publicly cast her suspicion on me.
She had heard me rustling during one of the murders. The jig was up.
Before the game began, the host had warned us that while emotions could be heightened during the game, we should be mindful not to take anything personally.
Was that warning really necessary I thought?
But now I could see why, I felt like I’d been thrown under the bus by my best friend.
Before the game began, the host had warned us that while emotions could be heightened during the game, we should be mindful not to take anything personally
Yes by all means she was a Faithful and I was a Traitor so we were on opposing sides, but somehow I still felt betrayed – nearly two decades of friendship at risk all because she’d heard me fiddling with my blindfold.
Looking back, I can see I was being a tad dramatic. But that really is the nature of the game.
Within the two hours of playing you are sucked completely into the experience and suddenly the perfectly pleasant people around you become enemies.
Perhaps then, it was the right time for me to be banished.
With suspicion on me, I panicked, and as I predicted – I put my foot in it by labouring my protestations of innocence.
While there were a handful who still believed me, ultimately my time in the game had come to an end and I was banished from the group.
I was still pleased with myself for making it halfway through the game, and high on adrenaline I bizarrely curtsied as I declared I was a Traitor – the spirit of Paul Gorton lives on.
Having been banished from the Round Table room, I headed to a separate room to be reunited with the other players who had left the game and watch the action unfold from a TV screen
Having been banished from the Round Table room, I headed up the stairs to be reunited with the other players who had left the game.
While it was a tad awkward to be sitting in a room full of people I had a hand in murdering, I ordered a glass of Pinot and settled in to watch the rest of the game unfold from a TV screen.
The remaining players were not just being filmed for our entertainment but also so they could ‘communicate’ with us.
During challenges, the dead and the banished could offer guidance on the challenges by providing them with clues.
The game concludes in a different location – a replica of the iconic Traitors’ turret – with the final players given one final challenge before voting whether or not to end the game.
By this point, all the Traitors had been banished and only the Faithful remained.
Yet they were all still paranoid and kept voting out innocent Faithfuls – my friend included – until three players remained and ended the game victorious.
While I later congratulated my friend for making it so far, I will admit that part of me was pleased that she didn’t win the game.
I was clearly still bitter about her voting me out.
I enjoyed my time as a Traitor but there’s no way I could have kept it up for longer than an hour. Guess I really am a Faithful at heart after all (pictured: host Claudia Winkleman)
So, given the rollercoaster of emotions I experienced in the space of just two hours, I can see why the contestants on the show fall to pieces within a day.
I enjoyed my time as a Traitor but there’s no way I could have kept it up for longer than an hour.
Guess I really am a Faithful at heart after all.
The Traitors: Live Experience, London WC2H, can be booked at thetraitorslive.co.uk