Edinburgh actor Mark Bonnar has revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets from the set of Celebrity Traitors.
The 56-year-old star, who is competing on the current series of the hit BBC series, said things ‘got weird’ as soon as the famous faces descended on the castle. He recalled his luggage being searched on arrival as the crew looked for ‘secret recording equipment or illegal drugs‘, reports the Mirror.
He added: “We’re celebrities—we wouldn’t do drugs.”
This comes as fellow star Joe Wilkinson was left ‘unimpressed’ with production staff after he was stopped and told that he was to undergo a bag search ahead of filming in May. According to the TV star, bosses instigated a bag search to check that illegal substances or recording devices had not been brought on to set.
This is the first celebrity version of the hugely popular show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman. Joe, 50, is a Faithful but his fellow celeb pals including Jonathan Ross, singer Cat Burns and Alan Carr have been tasked with the role as a Traitor.
Speaking on the Chatabix podcast, he revealed that he made his feelings known to production that he was not happy with having his bags searched. Before entering into the Andross Castle in the Highlands, the celebrities were taken to a nearby hotel.
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Recalling his experience, he said: “This man said, ‘I’m going to go through your bag’. I was like, ‘I don’t think you are, pal’. All the producers came.
“I was like, ‘You’re going to have to trust me,’ but they were like, ‘Well, you have signed up to this, you p***k’, and I was like, ‘OK, carry on’.”
After carrying out the search he was allowed to carry on with his day. He added: “They were polite, and it was fine in the end.”
Explaining his own separate experience, Mark Bonnar added: “There’s six people in your room as soon as you’ve checked in, and they’re going through every item of your luggage.”
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He continued: “Just to check you haven’t got any secret recording equipment or illegal drugs. We’re celebrities–we wouldn’t do drugs!”
Since the launch episode, social media has been set alight with Alan Carr struggle to maintain a poker face as a Traitor. Giving an insight into why the three Traitors were chosen, host Claudia Winkleman told Radio Times: “I do those chats with them, and they’re much longer than you see. “
She continued: “Then I go into a room with the bosses from the BBC, the brilliant casting group, and we sort of work [it] out together. We don’t have long, but Alan said he wanted to be a Traitor, and they were compelling. So how could you not?”
And this came after Alan revealed his reason for wanting to be a Traitor ahead of the series launch. He recently said: “Well, people have asked, “Would you like to be a Traitor? The answer is, I don’t know.
“I’m fascinated to know how I would cope with it if I was. I’m not known for my poker face, but you’ve just got to adapt. I’m indecisive, and that’s the problem. But I think that’s probably good because I’d say it’s best to have an open mind.”