Army engineer, teacher and disability model among The Traitors contestants

A British Army engineer, a retired teacher and an insurance broker who survived a near-death experience are among the contestants taking part in the new series of The Traitors.

The hit psychological reality series returns to BBC One this week, with host Claudia Winkleman greeting 22 strangers at a castle in the Scottish Highlands, where they will hope to win £120,000.

Among them is Andrew, 45, an insurance broker from Talbot Green in Wales, who said he wants to “step out of his comfort zone” by taking part in the show after he survived an accident where he had been pronounced dead.

“I’ve been a Steady Eddy all my life, I suppose, never taking any risks or challenges. You only have one life, and I know that more than anyone because I suffered a serious accident many years ago. Your life is short, and it can get taken away at any moment,” he said.

“I believe I have an inspiring story – I was pronounced dead on the side of the road 23 years ago and I was in a coma for nearly five weeks.

“My parents were told I’d never walk ever again, I had brain damage and that there’s a chance of me not waking up from my coma.

“My parents were told that if I did wake up, I’d never walk, talk or use my arms again and I may not recognise them. They were told to prepare for the worst.

“There’s lots of things that happened to me, and the doctors call me a miracle patient.

“I met the man who saved my life last year. I met him and I shook his hand and said ‘Thank you for saving my life’. There are not many people out there who get a chance to see somebody who saved their life and say thank you. It was a very emotional thing.”

He is joined in the line-up by Sonja, 66, a volunteer business mentor from Lancashire, who is taking part in the show after the death two years ago of her son, Dan, who was severely disabled with autism and other disabilities, and was non-verbal.

She said: “Dan died at the age of 41. So I spent 41 years understanding non-verbal hints and cues from Dan.”

She added: “I can say I’m really, really motivated to do this because of Dan. It is actually very difficult to get the right things, the right services, and the right care for people like Dan, and I want to promote better care for people who can’t actually speak up for themselves.

“I would like to start a charity, after The Traitors, aimed at knitting in the community for young people to be together.

“Dan was so very brave. He had so many headwinds, but he was just fearless in everything he tried. I said to myself that I need to do something completely fearless, at least once a year. This is my first one… so who knows where it will go?”

They will be joined by retired teacher Diane, 63, also from Lancashire, who said she applied “mainly because my children said I could never do something like this”.

Veterinary nurse Evie, 29, from Inverness, is hoping to be a Traitor, saying: “I want to be a Traitor. I think I would make a good Traitor because I look like such a Faithful. I don’t think people think I’m very mischievous, but I think that shows that I’d be really be good at it.”

Meanwhile, Harry, 22, a British Army engineer from Slough, Berkshire, wants to be a Traitor “so bad”.

“I have five brothers and sisters so I can tell little white lies and I make myself believe them first and then it just becomes the truth,” he said.

The other contestants include a disability model, a sonographer and clairvoyant and a parliamentary affairs adviser.

– The Traitors will return on January 3 from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately afterwards.

The show will air on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.