The Celebrity Traitors<\/span><\/a> may have finished weeks ago, but we\u2019re all still talking about it thanks to the countless iconic moments it provided, from <\/span>Celia Imrie\u2019s infamous fart<\/span><\/a> to <\/span>Alan Carr\u2019s many struggles to keep his identity under wraps<\/span><\/a>, not to mention that <\/span>unforgettable last vote<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Watching over all the action was the show\u2019s regular host <\/span>Claudia Winkleman<\/span><\/a>, but it turns out she almost didn\u2019t appear in the celebrity version of the reality show at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Thursday, the BBC\u2019s chief content officer Kate Phillips appeared on the podcast <\/span>The Rest Is Entertainment<\/span><\/a>, where she spilled plenty of behind-the-scenes tea from The Celebrity Traitors.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n This, apparently, included the fact that Claudia initially wasn\u2019t interested in returning to the show to host its celebrity version as she\u2019s so \u201cprotective\u201d of the format.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Indeed, Claudia previously told <\/span>Woman And Home<\/span><\/a> she was \u201cscared\u201d that The Celebrity Traitors wouldn\u2019t work as a format, admitting: \u201cI\u2019m in love with this show and I wanted to keep it small. Once a year or maybe once every two years felt like enough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Luckily, she said her bosses don\u2019t listen to her and she was eventually convinced to return to the reality show.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n But Claudia wasn\u2019t the only Celebrity Traitors scene-stealer who very nearly didn\u2019t make it on the show.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alan Carr<\/span><\/a> \u2013 who emerged as a fan-favourite on day one and went on to <\/span>win the whole series<\/span><\/a> \u2013 originally said no to the offer to take part.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t really do reality shows,\u201d Kate explained. However, because she already knew how entertaining he would be as a contestant, she took matters into her own hands to get him on board. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey came back to me and said, \u2018Alan\u2019s a no\u2019,\u201d she recalled. \u201cSo, I thought, \u2018OK, what do I do to change his mind?\u2019, because I knew Alan would be good.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Eventually, Kate had the idea to take Alan and his agent out to dinner with the hopes of convincing him to sign up for the BBC reality show.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n BBC\/Studio Lambert\/Cody Burridge\/Matt Burlem<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cI remember walking into the restaurant, and he just went, \u2018I know why you\u2019ve asked me for lunch, Kate. And I\u2019m not doing it\u2019,\u201d she revealed. \u201cAnd I sort of said to Alan, \u2018OK, this is why you should do it, Alan\u2019, and I just talked to him about what a great show it was, and how he\u2019d be looked after…\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, what made Alan finally say yes to The Celebrity Traitors? It was the inclusion of Stephen Fry, who was one of the first <\/span>celebs <\/span><\/a>the BBC booked.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cStephen signed up for it because he wanted to play the game and he did say, \u2018look, use me to get others\u2019,\u201d she revealed. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Alan did have one interesting condition for signing up for the show, though. \u201cHe said, \u2019you\u2019ve got to promise me I won\u2019t be a \u201cTraitor\u201d. And I was like, \u2018well, first of all, I can\u2019t promise that \u2018cause it\u2019s the format\u2019. she explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fortunately, by the time Alan made it into the castle, he\u2019d changed his mind, which is how he wound up taking his place in the turret in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAnd actually, if someone really doesn\u2019t want to be a \u2018Traitor\u2019, we wouldn\u2019t make them,\u201d Kate insisted. \u201cWe do look after people on it. We don\u2019t want them to have an awful experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Alan](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/691f44671700000f779c644c.jpg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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