Exclusive Interview: The Traitors Winner, Aaron Evans

With The Traitors: New Blood premiering this week, which will be the first all-civilian cast of the US’s franchise, Casino Guru USA sat down with one of the faithful winners from the UK’s first season, Aaron Evans.

Aaron was selected as a faithful in the very first episode and remained as one all the way through to the end, winning the prize fund alongside two other faithfuls.

See below for the full interview with Aaron, including castle secrets, his verdict on New Blood’s contestants, and advice for viewers who want to apply for the next season.

Key highlights:

• On behind-the-scenes secrets:"We all got put on an energy drink ban…by episode 4 or 5, there was a roundtable where we were all a bit gaunt, and production were like,‘Okay, we can’t give them energy drinks anymore.’"
• On the traits that make someone accused as a traitor:"super loud, very argumentative, because even if you’re not the traitor, you’re going to just put a target on your back"
• On which new cast members have an advantage:"Niyya, she’s the therapist… I think she’ll do really well keeping her head cool… Sherry, the writer. I think she’ll do really well because she seems really level-headed, well-spoken. I think she’ll know when to show her hand"
• On which new contestants will make good TV: "Joe, the funeral director…he’s just going to be super loud, probably put his target on his back… Logan, the realtor. I think he’ll do well because he just has to be liked by everyone because he’s a real estate agent"
• What viewers who want to apply should know:"if you do well, it will change the trajectory of your life…Just be mindful that when you come out, your whole world will be flip-flopped upside down and it’ll just be completely changed"
• On whether they sleep at the castle:"You simply just go back to a hotel… you get to the hotel, they blindfold you, take you up to your room, put you in your room"

Full Interview

Casino Guru: So how did you actually get casted for The Traitors?

Aaron: So the original reach out was through an Instagram page that I had to do with real estate, because I used to sell million-pound houses. And in every property that I would do, if it was an expensive one, I’d always do a video for them. So I had a whole social media platform separate to my normal one, and one of the casting agents reached out on that page, and it took a couple of weeks before I even responded. And then I got back to them, jumped on a phone call, and then just basically went from there. And it was just back to back interviews after that.

Casino Guru: So you hadn’t actually applied?

Aaron: No, I never applied to it. So I actually wasn’t even going to do The Traitors because at one point I was going to miss out on a deal which was like £1.4 mil. And I called up and I was just like, "I’m pulling out." I didn’t want to do it. And this was stage 4, and there’s 5 stages. And I actually got told by one of the producers on stage 4, "you’re on the show, do not fucking pull out now. You’re about to have the last stage where they basically are going to run through a bunch of stuff, and then they’ll tell you that you’re going to be on the show. But you just have to act surprised." And I was like, "okay then, cool." So I just went for it, and yeah, ended up on the show.

Casino Guru: Do you have any tips for someone who would hope to get picked by casting? Whether it’s to get selected through scouting on social media or just someone who’s applying?

Aaron: Yeah, generally just be yourself. They’ve already got someone in mind that they’re looking for and they’re essentially just trying to find tick boxes. So, if you just are yourself and you’re a high-energy person, then you’re more likely to get picked essentially. But if they see that you’re trying to pretend to be someone that you’re not, then they’re more likely to just throw you under the rug.

Casino Guru: Were there any big moments from your season that didn’t air, like any clashes with other contestants that viewers didn’t see?

Aaron: Yeah, there was a big one at the end which never got shown, which was between Wilf and Kieran. They ended up having a bit of a bicker of an argument in a separate room, which is inevitably why I figured out how they were both traitors, because I was peeping in on them. But that never got aired, and I think if they would have shown that, then it would have released that we sort of sussed it beforehand. That was quite a big one because they were going at it, and I was listening through the door, hearing what they were saying. So I kind of sussed that they were both traitors at that point.

Casino Guru: Are there any behind-the-scenes secrets you would be able to share that you think would surprise the viewers?

Aaron: We all got put on an energy drink ban after I think episode 4 or 5, everyone got basically cut off from energy drinks other than Meryl, who was so addicted to them that they had to wean her off of it. So, she ended up getting like one a day. That’s something behind the scenes that you probably wouldn’t have known because we were all just pumped on energy drinks. And by episode 4 or 5, there was a roundtable where we were all a bit gaunt, and production were like, "okay, we can’t give them energy drinks anymore."

Casino Guru: So what’s the situation with the sleeping?

Aaron: The sleeping is you simply just go back to a hotel. It’s like 45 minutes or an hour drive away, and most of the time you’re so tired from being on set all day because you’re there for about 16 hours that you ended up just falling asleep in the car. And then you get to the hotel, they blindfold you, take you up to your room, put you in your room, you fall asleep, wake up the next morning, and then you go.

Casino Guru: With the New Blood season, this will be the first all-civilian cast in the US franchise. Do you think that it will be more entertaining than the previous celebrity seasons that they’ve done, and if so, why?

Aaron: I think it will be more entertaining, and simply because they have more on the line. If you’re just a normal civilian and you have a quarter of a million dollars to possibly win, you’re going to be going for a lot more than someone who’s in the public eye and probably already has quite a bit of money. So I do think it’s going to be more entertaining. I think it’s a good thing that they’ve done it.

Casino Guru: Looking at the contestants who have been revealed in this New Blood season, do you think that any of them are going in with an advantage?

Aaron: Niyya, she’s the therapist – I think she’ll have an advantage. I don’t know how experienced she is because she said has student loans, but if she’s got a good amount of experience, I think she’ll do really well keeping her head cool. And then someone else, there’s a lady called Sherry, the writer. I think she’ll do really well because she seems really level-headed, well-spoken. I think she’ll know when to show her hand, and as long as she can get through the challenges, I think that she’ll do really well.

Casino Guru: Looking at those contestants, are there any that stood out to you that you think would make good TV?

Aaron: Joe, the funeral director – I think he’ll make good TV. Because of what I said earlier, he’s just going to be super loud, probably put his target on his back. Unless he buddies up with a traitor unknowingly and they use him as a shield, I think he’ll probably get kicked out between the first bit towards the middle. And then there’s another guy, Logan, the realtor. I think he’ll do well because he just has to be liked by everyone because he’s a real estate agent. And me and Amanda were real estate agents when we went on the show, so I think he’ll do well as long as he’s good at challenges. He’ll get quite far as well.

Casino Guru: NBC have said that there’ll be new ‘epic missions and twisted gameplay’ in this New Blood season. What never-been-seen-before twist would you add to the season if you had the opportunity?

Aaron: I would add the ideas in the games where if you could possibly win as a faithful, it would give you a hint, a tip or an advantage to figure out the traitors. But vice versa if the traitors were able to jeopardise the challenge, then they could have an advantage, like a double murder of the faithfuls. That’s what I would add in, because otherwise it just becomes so difficult.

Casino Guru: What do you think about the show adding new twists – do you think that it makes it more entertaining, or do you think it takes the shine away?

Aaron: I guess they’ve got to make it exciting every single time, so I do think it does make it better. But I think, like every single TV show, once too many years go by and it changes too much, then it might lose its spark. But I think it’s fun. It’s still early days and there’s a lot of energy in The Traitors, so I think it’ll be entertaining – it’ll be a good thing.

Casino Guru: For fans of New Blood when it comes out, who watch the show and want to apply for the next season, what’s one thing that you would want them to know before applying?

Aaron: One thing you should know, if you do well, it will change the trajectory of your life. I think that’s something you don’t really anticipate when you go on to the show and don’t really understand. Just be mindful that when you come out, your whole world will be flip-flopped upside down and it’ll just be completely changed.

Casino Guru: What do you think is more difficult, working out who the traitors are or convincing the other faithfuls to believe you?

Aaron: Personally for me, I think figuring out who the traitors are is more difficult just because I got really good at defending myself against the faithfuls. I was just up on the line so many times, so in my experience, it was easier to defend myself versus the faithfuls and more difficult to figure out who the traitors were. Unless they were able to slip up, it is almost impossible to figure out who the traitors are other than guessing. So, it is just very difficult.

You’ll see people watching the show and they’ll be like, "I would do this, I would do that." And it’s like, you would right now in this situation, because you have no idea who these people are, but when you’re with every single person for 16 hours a day, and you’re not allowed your phone, you’re not allowed to talk about anything to do with the TV show, you end up talking about your family, your friends. You figure out everything about them. You become emotionally attached to these people. So then it’s not as easy as just being like, "Oh, just get rid of this person," because then you have some sort of connection with that person. So, it becomes way more difficult, it’s not as easy as what they think.

Casino Guru: What personality traits do you think make someone wrongly accused of being a traitor?

Aaron: Similar to what I was saying about Joe — super loud, very argumentative, because even if you’re not the traitor, you’re going to just put a target on your back. I think having a bit of a cool head, taking a bit of a step back, and taking a breather is the most important thing to do. And just try not to be too loud, because as soon as you do that, it’s just too much attention on you.

Casino Guru: If an All Stars version of The Traitors was a possibility, would you be up for it?

Aaron: Yeah, absolutely. 100%. I got to jump out of a helicopter; it was the most insane experience of my life. It was awesome. That was my favourite bit of all, just doing challenges. They were so much fun, and they just broke up the day, and it was just so good to do it.

Casino Guru: Is there anyone from any country or any season of The Traitors that you would like to see in an All Stars version?

Aaron: Probably Amanda, because I love her to bits. She would be really, really good. I’d like to see Wilf back on screen because I think he would deserve it. And then in season 2, Harry Clark – I think he did one of the best performances by far. Them 3 for sure.

Casino Guru: You went on Love Island USA after The Traitors. Which casting process would you say was more brutal?

Aaron: It’s difficult to say because The Traitors was fun, but I had to go through each one of the interviews as if I was trying to get on the show, whereas Love Island, from the first interview, they sort of wanted me more than I wanted to go on. So it wasn’t really "Oh, we’re interviewing for the show," it’s more, "We’re trying to get you on the show." So, neither of them were brutal. But I guess the more challenging one was The Traitors, because Love Island was already a given. I think [The Traitors] was more fun as well, because they asked you more interesting questions.

Casino Guru: Love Island USA fans suggested that you would be a good fit for Below Deck. What do you make of this, and would you do it if you were offered?

Aaron: I actually did get offered. Just after The Traitors, I got offered to go on it. It was during the time that I started to train as a yachtie, and they asked me, but I would have been too ‘green,’ so I would have had no experience, and I think I would have got ripped apart. But would I go on it now? I’m not sure. I think possibly I would. I don’t know, they’d have to ask me again, and then we could go through the whole process and take it from there. But I’ve watched a few more seasons since then, and I think I would do pretty well on that show.

Casino Guru: Are there any other reality TV series that you’d like to do, or do you have like anything else in the works?

Aaron: I would love to do something more challenge-based, something that brings my better side out more than my worst side. I’d love to do anything to do with Survivor, Alone, or even Big Brother would be kind of cool as well. Something along them lines – basically, not dating. Dating is not my forte, so I’d love to do anything else but that. Even a dancing show, that would be kind of cool as well. But challenge based is more fun – I love challenges. I love doing things that are just super fun and things that you have to work out, so anything in that area I would absolutely love.

Casino Guru: Are you in any group chats for either The Traitors or Love Island USA?

Aaron: This sounds really bad, but when I first got put in the group chats, I actually just mute them and then I just get out of them anyway because it gets a bit too chaotic. I’d rather just speak to people one-on-one and personally rather than being in the group chat. So no, I tend to stay out of all the group chats. And I’m not really on my phone anyway that often, so it’s a bit pointless for me to be trying to catch up when there’s like 400 messages going off in the group chat. It’s not worth it. I think I was in The Traitors one for a good 6 months to a year, but then I dipped out of that one. And similar with Love Island, I was in the small group chats, but I didn’t really stay too active in there.

Casino Guru: Is there anyone from your time on TV that you don’t get on with now?

Aaron: Not really. I think I just get on with everyone – I try to get on with everyone anyway. I’m a pretty easy-going, quite chill, laid-back person, so there’s no one that I really have a vendetta for that I wouldn’t want to get on with. So yeah, I’m pretty happy with absolutely everyone. If someone said hello to me in the street, I wouldn’t be off with them.

Casino Guru: What would you say the biggest highlight and lowlight from your season of The Traitors was?

Aaron: Biggest highlight for sure is jumping out of a helicopter into the water, that was an absolutely insane experience. And then lowlight has to be when I had a panic attack on TV because it was the first time I’ve ever had a panic attack, and I didn’t really understand what was going on, so that was quite difficult.

Casino Guru: What 3 words would you use to describe your time on The Traitors?

Aaron: Stressful, exciting, and overall, just a buzz. There was so much fun going on all the time. Other than when we just had to be at the round tables, or people arguing, generally speaking everyone got on so well. It was just so much fun, and it was like a little second family. It was just one of the best times of my life – it was so cool, I loved it.

Casino Guru: Are arguments often left out of the roundtable?

Aaron: Yeah, of course. I mean, some of the roundtables would take up to like 3 hours, maybe even longer, so they cut that down obviously into however many minutes are on the TV episode. So they always leave a bunch of big parts out that you think, "Oh, why did they not leave that in?" or "They should have left this in." There was one time, I think it was when Maddie got banished, and I sort of knew in the air that this was the last time that I had to go up against everyone. And I could tell in the air everyone was going to come after me, and before anyone even said anything I just got up and pleaded my case, and was basically stood up, shouting. I was just like, "There’s no way I’m the secret traitor, blah blah blah." And I redirected the blame onto Maddie, and I could tell because Wilf and Hannah looked at each other and sort of agreed. And I could tell at that moment, I was just like, "Cool, I’m off the chopping board now." And that was a moment that never even made the cut. So, there’s definitely times like that with every single person that has a big moment that they can’t just leave in. So yeah, there’s a bunch of arguments that were left on the chopping floor of the editing room.

Casino Guru: If you could go back in and do it all again, would you want to be faithful again or would you want to be a traitor?

Aaron: I’d absolutely be a traitor. 100%. I don’t know if I’d be a good traitor, but I definitely would be a traitor, just because now I’ve seen a few seasons. They have so much more fun, they have more control, they get to essentially play the game how it’s meant to be played. So going in now, if I could go in again, I would definitely be a traitor.