The Celebrity Traitors: Interview with the winner

Tonight, record audiences watched BBC One and iPlayer and saw Alan Carr win The Celebrity Traitors.Here's what Alan had to say after winning the show... First of all, congratulations! How does it feel to be crowned the very first winner of The Celebrity Traitors? Has it sunk in yet? What an honour and a complete shock! If someone had told me week one that I would even be around in week two I wouldn’t have believed them, so to be crowned the winner is absolutely mind blowing. What an adventure!You were clearly quite emotional when it was time to reveal to David and Nick that you were a Traitor. How did it feel for you in that moment? I think all the deceit, the lying, the murdering of Paloma and Celia had all taken its toll and then I think it dawned on me that I had won such a huge amount for my charity, Neuroblastoma UK. The charity is so close to my heart that it all became a bit too much. Hopefully when people see how upset I was they won’t feel so bad that I killed all those national treasures.Of course it’s wonderful winning all the money for your charity. Have you had a chance to share the news with them yet? And what is this going to mean to them and their work?I told one person at the charity and they started crying, so that gives you some idea of how important this money will be to them. Neuroblastoma is such a cruel disease, and this money will literally save lives. It’s a charity and disease that no one has really heard of so with the viewing figures being what they are it’s going to be so good for the charity.Let’s go back to the beginning… getting that fateful squeeze on the shoulder from Claudia. What was going through your mind? And then how did you feel finding out who your other Traitors were?It was interesting because I heard Claudia go past a couple of times, and I felt a bit sad that she hadn’t chosen me and that’s when I realised that deep down I probably did want to be a Traitor after all. And then I felt her finger on my shoulder, and I instantly froze - you could see a grin crossed my face. I think people knew from then on that it was going to be an uphill struggle keeping this information to myself.Did you find it difficult to juggle being a comedian and a Traitor? It seemed that humour was a great cover and a way of deflecting at times...Yes, humour was my secret weapon in the castle. I would often deflect scrutiny and make a gag about something which would then throw everyone off the scent. My sense of humour was probably more useful to me than a shield.Were there any points where you thought your cover had been blown? Who do you think came the closest to catching you?Definitely with the two murders in plain sight, especially Celia’s murder. Spouting Shakespeare at the dinner party was so not me and so out of character that I thought it would’ve been a red flag to the Faithful but at breakfast no one mentioned it.You had two risky murders in plain sight - firstly Paloma and then Celia. How nervous were you feeling?I felt a mixture of nerves and guilt. I love Paloma. She’s a friend as you know, but I’d really really got close to Celia in the castle. We would have little chats in the library and when it was a Shakespeare quote, I thought it’s got to be Celia as she’s an actress on stage and screen so in a way it has to be her that I say the quote to. It was a real conundrum for me murdering someone whose company I really enjoyed.Looking back, what would you say your best moment in the game was? And perhaps your toughest?The Trojan horse Mission was a lot of fun even though it was hard work pushing up the hill. Seeing it for the first time, it was so big and so camp. It felt very theatrical and majestic in the Scottish Highlands. The wax work laser task was also good fun and slightly surreal crawling on the floor with the head of someone you’ve murdered. There were moments when I was thinking what the hell is going on? It was like a cheese dream.There were lots of daring Missions. Which one do you think pushed you to your limits the most?The bridge one really pushed me to my limits, although I must admit on the telly the bridge didn’t look that high. It looked like one you get in the children’s adventure playground but let me tell you in real life it seemed and felt much higher.We have to talk about all the memes and reactions online, which have stood out to you and really made you laugh?The Memes have been so funny, I’ve loved them all. Someone did a song which included all my Traitors quotes. It’s quite catchy actually and I think it should be entered for Eurovision! What surprised me most was the impact of me wearing the cloak when I wore it in the castle on the first episode. I thought I looked quite good - clearly, I was wrong! People dressed up as me for Halloween. Someone had made a batch of cookies with my face on it. But the most amazing one for me was on the 5th of November being driven past the Houses of Parliament seeing a billboard saying ‘the greatest traitors since Guy Fawkes’ was something I will never ever forget.If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice at the start of the show, what would it be?Don’t kill off Tom Daley too early I saw that clip of him in the shower maybe he could’ve stayed a few more weeks!!!The CFinally, what would you say to any potential future players of The Traitors hoping to follow in your footsteps - any tips and tricks from the master of mischief himself?Although I won, I don’t really think I can give any tips and tricks. I don’t know if I was a really good Traitor or if the Faithfuls were just useless. I think anyone who goes for it should only apply if you love the game. You have to love Claudia, you have to love the castle and you have to love the game, otherwise it’s all pointless. I want to do it next year as well - maybe I can just sneak in with my cloak and lantern and murder someone just for the thrill, just for old time’s sake!