The Traitors' Jaz Singh reveals behind-the-scenes secrets of being a finalist

"The only way to describe it is that time stays still! Your position as a contestant on the show is almost stagnant, even though mentally you know time is ticking, because everything is so difficult and all these things can change at any given moment. You're so convinced that Claudia will just walk into the room and say 'Jaz, you have now left the game, please leave the castle'! It's emotional, and it's hard work. I can't really put into words how difficult it is."

"Yeah — if you're a Faithful and you get to the final, it is a different kind of pressure, because every single night, you're going to sleep at 2am or 3am and waking up at 6am, so you're on very little sleep, knowing that tomorrow could be your last day, so you're on constant paranoia. So in getting to the final, the pressure is already so high, to the point where your decision-making, how you behave, how you interact with the other contestants — your vision of everything is so clouded that you have to be a bit regimented."

"In my room, I had a little Post-It note, just to remind myself every day of the reason why I was in there, and the people that I wanted to make proud. That just sort of centered me every time, to go 'this is why you're doing this, so just keep pushing'."

"Ooh, nooo — I was not happy at all! I pleaded, I begged to be a Traitor, and it was the biggest shock of my life that Claudia didn't tap me on the shoulder, because I went in thinking and believing, 'I'm going to be a Traitor, I'm going to have full control over this game, I'm going to be the last man standing'. I had no idea that fate had a different story lined up and that I was going to be a Faithful — I didn't plan or prep for that, but as soon as I took that blindfold off, I thought, 'you'd better change your game mindset!'"

"Your stomach goes. You start to feel physical responses with dealing with that level of pressure, because you spent nine months trying to get onto a show, and getting to the final is almost impossible, and then once you're in that position, your fate is now in somebody else's hands, so it's a bit of a double-edged sword. But I played the game exactly how I wanted to play it, and I have no regrets. When that element of control has been passed to someone else to try and assist you, you don't want to force an agenda, you don't want to manipulate and influence somebody to make their decision, you just, as a Faithful, have to be yourself, and it's up to them who they click with."

"So, so painful, because to be honest, Mollie changed her mind a few times, and I could see she was in tears trying to make this decision. My stomach kept going, and I didn't know how to remain calm. Should I shout out to Mollie, saying 'don't do it!', or should I say to her, 'Mollie, we've made mistakes in this game, Harry's made no mistakes whatsoever, isn't that suspicious to you?' But in my mind I'm thinking 'Jaz, you've done everything that you can, it is literally beyond your control at this point, and whatever is meant to be will be — and remember, this isn't the real world, you do have a life to go back to after this!'"

"Absolutely not. One thing I can say, Studio Lambert [the production company that makes The Traitors] have been unbelievable in terms of welfare and wellbeing. I've been told horror stories from back in the day where you didn't get that support — you were put on a show, recorded, booted off and then you just returned to normal life, whereas with this, right from the get-go, even during the application process, Studio Lambert and the whole team have been phenomenal. They want to make sure that at the end of the day, you know this is a game, and they're there at your disposal should you need them — I'm still in contact with them, just to have that relationship, it's vital, especially with the ending that I had. I felt that the recovery side of things would take me a long time, but I never thought things would blow up the way they have. The response has been immense — when people come up to you and still want a selfie and call me 'Jazatha Christie', it genuinely does fill my heart — that's all part of the recovery!"

"I didn't know who Agatha Christie was, and that's the worst bit! I actually announced on [Traitors companion show] Uncloaked that I had no idea who this Queen of Crime is, so I had to Google! It's crazy to be associated with an icon, and following that I was able to shoot a VT with This Morning, to go on a journey to Torquay to discover more about who Agatha Christie is. So now I know, I'm in awe — and whoever came up with that name, I still need to get them a gift to thank them!"

"Claudia is something else, she really is — and she's a lot smaller in real life! She's such a powerhouse, she's got so much energy, and she's just perfect for the show. Now I've got that relationship where I can just pick up the phone to her and go, 'Auntie Claud? I've got a question for you, can you help me?' She's been amazing since leaving the castle, she's truly an amazing person."

"Timing is critical. Even though you might know who a Traitor is, or you're 99% sure, pick your moment of when you want to share that, and who you're going to share that with. Balance is important — you can't get too close to someone because that might shoot you in the foot, but you can't be too far apart either because people might think, 'they're not putting in any effort with me, they're a bit dodgy, they're definitely a Traitor', so you have to try and get that dynamic right. Make sure everything is backed up, make sure you've got evidence, don't just pluck things out of thin air like 'oh, that person's a Traitor because they blinked' — you've got to have something strong and tangible that nobody can argue with. And keep your cool!"