The Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler reveals he spent hours locked in a hotel room binging Line Of Duty and put on eight kilos after indulging in three breakfasts a day while filming

For any agent looking to book their client onto their next big TV job, The Celebrity Traitors seems like the dream gig.

But while the exposure, and a hefty payday, are no doubt huge perks for any stars that are set to take part in the new series, one of last year's Faithfuls has shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at his experience filming the top-secret show.

Joe Marler, who made it all the way to the final in last year's celebrity run, has shared that much of filming, which was kept heavily under wraps, meant hours alone in a hotel room just minutes from Inverness Airport.

The first series of Celebrity Traitors saw Alan Carr escape exposure to become the sole Traitor to win the show, and drew in huge ratings for the BBC. 

Series two, which is set to begin on October 1st, will see an even more star-studded lineup than the first time round, with big names including Richard E. Grant, Maya Jama, James Blunt, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Ross Kemp taking part.

Joe has shared that he and his fellow contestants were 'locked away' from the world while they were filming the show, and he was even forced to lie to airport staff about his destination when flying to Scotland.

Speaking to hosts Richard Osman and Marina Hyde at The Rest Is Entertainment Live, he said: 'You are locked away.

'You get flown up to Inverness Airport, although the lad who was at the check-in desk was like, ‘’what's going on here?’’

'And I'm going, ''I'm just checking in.'' [he says] ''But yeah, but Joe Wilkinson was here for two hours now.'' 

'And then he mentioned Paloma Faith this morning and was like, ''So what's going on in Inverness?'', and I went ''I have no idea what's going on!''

Joe shared that while viewers are led to believe that celebrities return to luxurious castle 'lodgings' after each roundtable, in reality they are driving back to a Marriott Hotel, where rooms start at as little as £64 per night.

He continued: 'So you get flown up there and then you get shoved in the Marriott Hotel in Inverness Airport, which funnily enough, the Traitors group that we've got still going on... Nick actually put on a picture of the hotel because he's up there today for something. And everyone just immediately shudders, ''Oh, God, that hotel!''

'It was gorgeous! I was in the room, you put a card under the door, your food gets brought to you, you can have as much as you like.

'There's no interaction with anyone, any other contestants and then you’re taken to the castle.'

Joe said that which so many hours spent in his hotel room, he found plenty of time to binge-watch TV, and his choice of programme led to one of his ill-thought theories while he was in the castle.

'Weirdly enough, and this is a true story, I ended up re-watching Line Of Duty with Mark Bonner in. Unfortunately, that also led me to then suspect him the next day,' he revealed.

'Because, in the conversation with him in the garden, he used the word 'moot'. And after I come away, he said ''moot''.

'And in the episode I watched the night before, he said 'moot point', and he's a baddie in that. Yeah. So in the castle, but he said, ‘’Oh, that's a really good point, Joe.’’ I went ''it's you!''

'Things feel real even though they’re not

'That’s what the castle does to you, because you've got very little to go on. It's like anything, you're just driven crazy.

'The whole time situation where we weren't allowed to know the time, and it was Traitors time. You'd ask the runners and production ''what's the time?'' They're like, ''Traitors time!''

'It was cut from the show, there was a period where me and Joe Wilkinson are trying to work out the time on one of the sun dials, along with seven hours of snooker playing that me and Joe did!'

During the show, viewers also see the crucial moment that Traitors and Faithfuls reunite for breakfast, and to see who had survived another murder.

But while celebrities would no doubt enjoy the lavish spread on offer, Joe confessed it wasn't always his first meal of the day. 

He said: 'For the first bit of enjoying yourself, just watch what you’re eating, to go in there and put on eight kilos.

'Some people engage in a second breakfast, some people it would be their first breakfast. Some people it might be a third breakfast.'

During the live show, Richard and Marina said they'd learned this year's Celebrity Traitors would be much more 'fiery' than the first run, and some stars became far more 'emotional' during filming.

Joe then said: 'Ours was very laugh-led and everyone was sort of enjoying catching up, to the point where they were going, ‘’Guys, we're trying to play a game.’’ 

'It's not just, ''Oh, did you remember going to that party, darling?'' or, ''do you remember this time from here?''

'Oh yeah, we're playing f*****g Traitors. Whereas this lot I think were on it from the start. 

'And then really, I guess, seeing how well the first series has gone, there's a little bit of pressure on them to be like, ''oh, I’d quite like a bit of that.'''

The BBC released the trailer for the hotly anticipated series last month, as host Claudia Winkleman left the star-studded line-up quivering in the teaser. 

Maya and Jerry Hall are two of the biggest names leading this year's cast as they join legendary actor Richard E Grant and comedian Romesh Ranganathan.

Also heading to Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands are Michael Sheen, Miranda Hart, Ross Kemp, Bella Ramsey and James Blunt.

Comedians Rob Beckett, Joe Lycett, Joanne McNally and James Acaster will also join, alongside Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

The line up will be completed by mathematician Hannah Fry, broadcaster Amol Rajan, Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, prankster King Kenny, Industry star Myha'la, Heartstopper's Sebastian Croft and My Mad Fat Diary's Sharon Rooney.

Meanwhile the new series marks Claudia's return to the BBC after she walked away from her chat show The Claudia Winkleman Show after just one series. 

In the new trailer the celebrities gather in the pews of an eerie church, as Claudia asks: 'A moment of silence for the celebrities gathered today.'

The camera then panned across a terrified Miranda Hart, Rob Beckett, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Bella Ramsey, Ross Kemp and Sharon Rooney. 

'Thoughts and prayers,' said Claudia, before striding down the aisle as she added: 'Who doesn't love a dramatic exit.' 

Funeral-style flowers can be seen behind Claudia, spelling out 'RIP VIP'. 

Details about the new series are being kept secret, so it remains to be seen who Claudia will choose as her three Traitors.

With this line-up proving to be the starriest yet, it was previously reported that bosses were forced to double their £1million budget in a bid to cater to the A-List contestants' demands.

In June, it was reported that producers of the show are 'shocked' by how the new series has unravelled after the original Traitors went on a 'recruiting spree'.

A third of the 21 stars are said to end up as Traitors in a huge twist no one saw coming. 

Insiders say the tactics caused a 'thrilling shift of power' to take place in the game which reached new levels of backstabbing and betrayal. 

It is said to be completely different from the first series of the celebrity spin-off which saw Alan Carr and Cat Burns stick together as Traitors all the way through the series after Jonathan Ross got banished earlier on. 

The Celebrity Traitors begins on Thursday, October 1st at 9pm on BBC One.