With Kate Garraway, Clare Balding, Paloma Faith, Celia Imrie, Lucy Beaumont and Charlotte Church among the contestants appearing in the highly anticipated series of The Celebrity Traitors tonight, the reality TV genre shows no signs of slowing down.
From Married at First Sight to The Great British Bake Off, reality TV dominates prime time. Whether we’re watching ordinary folk catapulted into the media spotlight or celebs on impossible adventures, it’s keeping millions of us glued to our screens.
But what really happens off camera? We can't be the only ones watching and wondering things like 'do the Traitors contestants sleep in the castle?' and 'do they realise their families are watching?!' We spoke to Reverend Lisa Coupland from The Traitors 2025, Natalie Sims Rees from The Great Pottery Throw Down 2025, and Janey Smith from My Mum, Your Dad season 1 to get the inside scoop.
Behind the scenes of The Traitors
Lisa initially hid her identity as a priest from her Traitors competitors
Revd Lisa Coupland, 63, from Cornwall, took part in series 3 of BBC1’s The Traitors, which captivated fans in January 2025. She lives with her husband Mark, and they have three adult sons.
"As the end credits of The Traitors 2024 aired, an advert appeared encouraging applications for the next series," Lisa remembers. "Leaving my husband dozing next to me, I popped upstairs to record an application video – then thought no more of it.
"Receiving a call from one of the researchers a couple of weeks later was therefore a shock! After a series of interviews and meetings online and face to face, I was amazed to find I would be a contestant.
"Keeping our identities secret before the show aired was vital, so I only told close family, but as a vicar, I needed permission from the bishop. Once I explained the premise, he gave his blessing.
"I used the excuse of a retreat to explain my absence from parish life for three weeks.
"I’m often asked if being on the show clashed with my faith, but I remind people it’s just a game.
"I was both apprehensive and excited to board the steam train to the Traitors castle in Scotland, the first time I’d met the other contestants.
"Nothing was scripted or staged, so when host Claudia Winkleman disclosed which Faithful had been ‘murdered’ in the night at breakfast, that was the first we knew of it. The reactions you see on TV are very real.
"The castle is stunning. We’d spend all day there, from breakfast through to nightfall, then take the short drive to our lodgings. It was a blessing to unwind and refocus in your own room."
"Having cameras on you constantly and being miked up around the clock sounds daunting, but surprisingly, you adapt to it quickly.
"The emotional weight of the game can creep up on you, especially at the round table, although I think I got away quite lightly with not being under scrutiny too much.
"You’re sitting next to people you’ve built relationships with, and then they’re banished.
"I had thought the missions were about creating fun footage with props for effect – how wrong I was! Our second mission involved lugging oak caskets and sacks with actual gunpowder up a steep hill.
"When we rowed a Viking ship across a loch on another mission, there was no secret engine power. I suffer with chronic fatigue syndrome, so while fun, it was exhausting.
"My eventual ‘murder’ didn’t come as a complete surprise – I’d had an inkling when I called out Minah and Charlotte as Traitors at the round table. But viewers know so much more than we do, as the cameras and microphones give them a 360-degree view.
"I loved watching the series afterwards and remembering the relief I felt when I came clean that I was a priest.
"I’m still really close friends with Linda and Alex, and have met up with several of my fellow castmates since the show. The whole experience was tough, but phenomenal – we really feel like one big Traitors family."
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Behind the scenes of Throw Down
Natalie in action on The Great Pottery Throw Down
Natalie Sims Rees, 42, from Derby, is a former professional dancer, who reached the final of C4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down series 8 this year. She lives with her wife Sarah and daughter Albie, six.
"I’ve always loved pottery, and I’m a big fan of The Great Pottery Throw Down, so in 2020 my brother suggested I apply. I didn’t make the cut, but I didn’t give up, and was finally accepted this year on my fourth attempt," says Natalie.
"After numerous phone and Zoom interviews followed by a day in London showing my skills, I vividly remember getting the call I wanted as I got into my car after work. I couldn’t drive for 10 minutes – I was so excited!"
"Some people worked throughout filming, but I took two months of unpaid leave from my job as a swimming instructor. It took six days to make each episode.
"The ‘main makes’ take a day, then we’d head home for three days while our creations were dried and bisque-fired before returning for the week’s surprise challenge and judging. It’s amazing how the producers edit days of footage into a brilliant hour-long show.
"The only downside is having to wear the same outfit throughout filming each episode for continuity reasons!
"I’m lucky that I live 40 minutes from the shoot location at Gladstone Pottery in Stoke, as some people had to travel for nine hours! During filming, we stayed in a nearby hotel.
"My wife and I had to tell our daughter Albie that I had a ‘pottery job’ going on to explain my frequent absences, as we didn’t want her spilling the beans at school that I was on the show.
"It was quite a juggle but I made lifelong friendships with the other potters and we’re all still in touch."
"It all looks calm and serene on TV, but the reality involves eight cameras, 12 potters, around 12 people off-screen plus the two lovely judges and host Siobhán McSweeney, all crammed into one small room.
"You learn quickly how to not bash into a camera or get into the wrong shot. We didn’t get to hang out much with the judges, but their input was always so helpful.
"Having been used to working alone in my garage pottery studio at home, initially I found the chaos and noise on-set off-putting. But I soon became accustomed to cameras zooming in on my hands or the judges popping by for a chat.
"However, the noises and faces I made came as a shock at my mini launch party at home with friends and family!
"The wonderful Throw Down experience helped to get back a bit of the Natalie I was before I became a mum.
"I’d love to make pottery my full-time career. As a first step, I’ve cut back my hours at the swimming pool and have rented a proper studio.
"My mantra in life is ‘if you don’t try, you’ll never know’, and I’m so glad I gave it my all and may be able to build a future in pottery, thanks to the Throw Down."
Behind the scenes of My Mum, Your Dad
"Davina had a knack for putting us at ease," says Janey, who met her partner Roger through starring in My Mum, Your Dad
Janey Smith, 49, from West Sussex, appeared on the first series of ITV’s My Mum, Your Dad in 2023, where she met her partner, Roger Hawes. Her son William, 22, was on the show’s panel of adult children tasked with pairing up their single parents.
"It blows me away that Roger and I met on a reality TV show. We’re not glamorous 20-somethings, but I think featuring middle-aged single parents, with various personal issues, made the show unique. It’s wonderful getting kind messages from people on my Instagram when they realise Roger and I are still so happy together.
"I split up with William’s dad when he was only one and hadn’t lived with anyone since, but I was keen to try to find a new partner. William and I filled in the forms for the show together, as we thought it sounded like a great idea.
"Initially, William was quite cautious about Roger, as he’d seen me get hurt before, but he proved to be the perfect matchmaker, along with Roger’s daughter Jess.
"We thought that the kids were simply going to be involved with a bit of promoting the show and doing the odd podcast about it, so the fact that they had been watching us on cameras and making decisions about setting up dates came as a shock at the end.
"It was a bit embarrassing realising they’d shaped our developing relationship – but we laughed a lot (and cringed a few times!) when we were able to watch it back together."
"Having been asked to hold two weeks in May clear, we only found out we’d be appearing two days before filming started. I couldn’t believe it, and felt excited and nervous all at once. There was little chance to glam up or go shopping.
"I was glad I’d ordered a few date night outfits online, as everyone looked so chic when I arrived at the ‘retreat’ location in Midhurst, fortunately just 20 minutes from my home.
"I entered the show on Day Two as a surprise ‘bombshell’. I shared a big suite with fellow contestants Caroline and Tolullah. There were no cameras in the bedroom, but it had a beautiful bathroom where everything was filmed to catch the gossip.
"I showered in a different room without a camera but did have to use the loo in our en suite. There was a huge plant next to the loo so I tried to hide myself behind it, but I don’t think the producers wanted to see that anyway!
"It was tough having no privacy, but after a few days I found my rhythm.
"It felt a bit like a holiday – delicious food, fun activities and no cleaning! I never got used to the show’s presenter Davina McCall walking in, but she had a knack for putting us at ease.
"I did occasionally forget the cameras until I’d hear an automated one whizz round to catch a conversation!
"Roger and I felt a connection immediately, but there were also dates set up by the kids, and the producers would sometimes encourage us to talk to specific people. The prosecco was the only thing faked. We were just allowed one glass of alcohol a day, so many toasts involved non-alcoholic fizz.
"Roger now spends most of his time at mine but pops back regularly to see his family in Derbyshire. The hardest part was keeping our relationship under wraps, as the show didn’t air until four months after filming. It was such a relief finally sharing with friends who this handsome man was!"
This article first appeared in the October 2025 issue of woman&home magazine. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.
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