![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_534670TITLEThe-Celebrity-Traitors.jpg\")
Joe Marler was one of the most loved stars on Celebrity Traitors (Image: BBC)<\/p>\nThe former England rugby star made it to the final five of the hit BBC show and worked out who were the Traitors<\/p>\n
13:37, 11 Nov 2025Updated 13:37, 11 Nov 2025<\/p>\n
Joe Marler was one of the most loved stars on Celebrity Traitors (Image: BBC)<\/p>\n
Joe Marler almost quit Celebrity Traitors<\/a> after a devastating death in the family saw him close to walking away.<\/p>\n The 35-year-old former England rugby star – who made it to the final five of the hit BBC<\/a> show alongside Nick Mohammed, Cat Burns<\/a>, David Olusoga and winner Alan Carr<\/a> – has opened up about his experience in the castle, and how he nearly walked away during filming after his wife Daisy’s grandmother died.<\/p>\n In an new interview, he told The Times newspaper: \u201cThe producers already knew she was terminally ill, so I went to them and said, \u2018That\u2019s me done.\u2019<\/p>\n READ MORE: Celebrity Traitors’ Joe Marler shares how much he got paid and ‘not everyone got the same’<\/a>READ MORE: Celebrity Traitors fans predict new line-up as second season is confirmed<\/a> “They were great \u2014 I was leaving. Then Daisy rang back and said, \u2018Look, there\u2019s not a lot you can do right now, so just stay up there until you get kicked out.\u2019<\/p>\n “That was the moment that I was like, right, I\u2019ve had enough of this impostor syndrome. I\u2019m gonna ramp it up, go hell for leather and if I get banished or murdered, it\u2019s a win \u2014 I can go home.\u201d<\/p>\n The retired sportsman admitted of the other 18 celebrities on the show, “the majority didn’t know” who he was – only fellow Brighton lad Joe Wilkinson, chat show host Jonathan Ross and sports broadcaster Clare Balding were familiar with him beforehand.<\/p>\n Joe added: “Whereas I\u2019d heard of all of them except Niko [Omilana, YouTuber], David [Olusoga, historian] and Ruth [Codd, actress]. “In celebrity terms, I was out of my depth. And then, when they did get to know me a bit, they thought I was weird<\/a>. “So they were like, \u2018Why would we follow the weirdo? He\u2019s so awkward.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Joe insisted he didn’t feel excluded, but he “had to graft a bit more to get to know them”.<\/p>\n Joe admitted he “enjoyed it so much”, especially as he came into his own with his ‘big dog’ theory that either Jonathan or Sir Stephen Fry would have been chosen as a Traitor.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, he also revealed his payday for the show, which didn’t match up to the \u00a340,000 which was the rumoured figure for all 19 contestants<\/p>\n He laughed: “Daisy read that too. She said to me, \u2018Hold on, I thought you only got 30?\u2019 I said, \u2018Yeah, I did.\u2019<\/p>\n “So no, I don\u2019t think everyone got paid the same. But I\u2019m not bothered. It was 30 grand whether you lasted two days or three weeks \u2014 a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok <\/a>, Snapchat <\/a>, Instagram <\/a>, Twitter <\/a>, Facebook <\/a>, YouTube <\/a>and Threads <\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Celebrity](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_542701TITLEThe-Celebrity-Traitors.jpg\")
Celebrity Traitors stars in the final(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC\/Studio Lambert\/Paul Chappells)<\/p>\n