Leicester’s Traitors star Tyler Smith has opened up about the incredible support he’s received from host Claudia Winkleman. The barber was banished from the reality show last week, but has said Claudia has been there to provide help since filming took place.
Speaking to the Mirror, the 29-year-old said Claudia had even given him her number. He said: “[Claudia has] been brilliant after the show, every time I’ve seen her she’s said lovely things about us all. She’s always saying she loves us and if we ever need to contact her we can drop her a message or give her a phone call anytime.”
Tyler also described the Strictly Come Dancing presenter as a “down to earth lady” and expressed gratitude for her support, especially after experiencing a challenging final day on the BBC One series.
READ MORE: Leicester’s BBC Traitors star has ‘no regrets’ over exit and is now recognised at work
Host Claudia has been a support for Tyler
(Image: BBC / Studio Lambert)
During his last moments on the show Tyler was shockingly banished from the castle by those he considered friends, leaving him feeling utterly betrayed. “I went into the roundtable confident as pie, and then when Leon said my name, it was like a vampire had drained all the blood from my body. I was like, ‘Is this actually happening? Am I dreaming?'”.
The betrayal hit hard for Tyler, who explained: “It did hurt me. I know that people do say, ‘Oh, you’ve got no mates in there’, but you can’t help but become close to certain people. The only people you’ve got to talk to are the other people in the castle. I grew close to Leon and to Leanne and Livi, but Livi was the only one who backed me out of the three. So, when Leon brought up my name, it did hurt me.”
Although the series was filmed last year and is now behind him, reliving the experience alongside the viewing public has not been without emotion for Tyler. “It brought it all back and all the emotions came back. I got quite upset,” he said.
Tyler admits watching the show back has been emotional
(Image: BBC)
Despite his honesty leading to an unexpected downfall, Tyler insists he couldn’t have played the game as a Traitor. He said: “The thing is with me, I said before I went in that I couldn’t go in and be a Traitor. I couldn’t lie about things. Being a barber, I’ve got to be truthful to my clients – they’d never trust me with their hair again if they saw me lying on TV!”
He added: “I wanted to be my true self, and I wanted everyone to see that on the telly and I hope everyone has. I’m just a big friendly giant.”
Since leaving the show, Tyler revealed that he’s received support from some former stars of The Traitors, including last season’s champion, Harry Clark, Jaz Singh – known to many as Jazatha Christie for his Traitor-finding skills – and Wilf Webster from the very first series of the show. He said: “It’s been really nice. They’ve just said, ‘You’ve done this amazing thing, enjoy it, enjoy the ride, the wave or whatever you want to call it. Where you end up is where you end up and just stay true to yourself. That’s the advice I’ve gone through life with anyway, but to hear it from previous players is reassuring.”
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