Champion of the BBC Show Opens Up About the Intense Schedule and Mental Toll

Harry Clark, winner of The Traitors second series, has revealed that he struggled with sleep deprivation due to the grueling filming schedule of the BBC reality show. The 23-year-old took home £95,150 after pulling off a dramatic deception, convincing his friend Mollie Pearce that he was a fellow “faithful” when, in fact, he was a “traitor” throughout the competition.

Appearing on the Tom Dean Medal Machine podcast, Clark shared the intense mental and physical toll the show had on him. He explained how the cast filmed for 16 to 18 hours a day, leaving no time for rest. The contestants would only sleep after filming wrapped, but for Clark and the other traitors, their work wasn’t over. They would secretly gather at the tower to decide who to “murder” that night, making it difficult to keep up the pretence of fatigue.

Clark said: “At the start of The Traitors, I would remind myself why I’m here every three or four days. By the end, I was reminding myself every five minutes why I’m here because it got so hard. Because we would never sleep.”

He also noted that the constant sleep deprivation led to mental fatigue among the contestants, especially as the days went on. “You just had to pretend you’re as tired as everyone else, but not more tired,” he explained, adding that this pressure led to many contestants’ eventual breakdowns.

As a former British Army engineer, Clark also mentioned that he purposely avoided watching the first series to enter the competition without expectations or the pressure to replicate anyone’s strategy. His approach was to stay true to himself and not overthink, as he felt doing so could cause him to lose focus.

Clark, who had always wanted to be a traitor, confessed that he initially doubted his ability to handle the role when he met the powerful host, Claudia Winkleman. Despite his earlier nerves, Clark was eventually selected as a traitor, marking the start of his victorious run on the show.