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<\/p>\nScots crime writer Harriett Tyce has said she was scared that appearing on The Traitors could backfire \u2013 if she came across like a \u201cnumpty\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Edinburgh-born barrister turned novelist said she took a chance applying for the hit BBC reality show because she might not have done her books justice.<\/p>\n
Tyce, 53, best known for her psychological thrillers Blood Orange and A Lesson in Cruelty, said her books were \u201cmeant to be intelligent\u201d.<\/p>\n
The writer, whose fifth novel, Witch Trial, set in Edinburgh, has just been published, told the Radio 2 Book Club podcast: \u201cI took part in the show because I love the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve watched it from the start and it is the perfect immersive psychological thriller, so why would I not want to take part?<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was a very speculative punt as to whether I\u2019d be any good at it. It was a speculative punt from the beginning \u2013 because they had so many applicants \u2013 that I might even get on let alone do the books any justice.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the books are meant to be quite intelligent and if I\u2019d gone on and been a complete numpty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyce kept her true identity under wraps throughout most of her spell in the fourth series of The Traitors, which finished last month.<\/p>\n
She used her skills as a barrister and crime novelist to correctly pinpoint Hugo and Rachel as traitors, before revealing her professional background to the group over breakfast in the castle.<\/p>\n
Despite being one of the group\u2019s faithfuls, her tactics backfired however as she was banished at the round table, and Rachel went on to share the prize pot with fellow traitor Stephen.<\/p>\n
Tyce said she was now enjoying being \u201cHarriet the writer\u201d again after a year of her life dominated by the reality show.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cIt\u2019s like a third party avatar that was on the show and gets recognised on the street. I\u2019m still the person that sits in bed in pyjamas making stuff up\u2026 You also do need to move on and think about other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyce\u2019s new book, Witch Trial, is about a heart surgeon named Matthew, called to jury service on a murder trial of two teenage girls who believe they are witches, after the death of one of their schoolmates in a park in Edinburgh following a ritual that has gone wrong.<\/p>\n
She said she had never been tempted to dabble with Ouija boards as a teenager, however, as she was \u201cterrified of it\u201d.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cI did a lot of research and I did get spooked out \u2013 I\u2019ve always found that kind of thing quite freaky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I believe it\u2019s true. I think I don\u2019t but let\u2019s not risk it. And Ouija boards, I was aware of all the horror stories that came when people had called out the spirits and then not burnt it or whatever.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust don\u2019t mess with things, it\u2019s not safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
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