Traitors' Charlotte Berman reveals how producers keep stars on edge - from controlling the heating to banning them from knowing the time - after celebs hit out at show conditions

The Traitors star Charlotte Berman has revealed how producers kept them on edge during the filming process, ensuring they stayed in a state of paranoia. 

Charlotte, 34, played as a Traitor in season three of the hit show, famously adopting a fake Welsh accent but avoiding detection until the final. 

The Celebrity Traitors is currently airing, with James Acaster causing a stir when he compared the experience to 'living in East Germany under Soviet control', while an unnamed star said producers were 'like human traffickers'.

Now Charlotte has explained the challenges of filming, saying: 'When you're living there and playing the game, for me anyway, it's all-consuming. 

'The team that makes the show does such a good job of keeping it so immersive. You don't have your phone. You don't even know the time. 

'You're there and in it until someone says it's time for bed, until the gongs ring. You have no choice but to either step up and play or you're going to get banished.'

Charlotte, who was speaking to the Daily Mail on behalf of Buzz Bingo, added there was another issue during filming - the temperature. 

'The castle is so hot. No one understands,' Charlotte explained. 

'You think of the Scottish Highlands; everyone's in their cable knits, but there are rigs of lighting around every room. The fires are all lit for atmosphere. It is sweltering. 

'I didn't know this, so I packed all my knitted jumpers. My advice to a future player is to lay off the layers.'

Charlotte's comments on the show's conditions come as the Celebrity Traitors have been told to 'toughen up' after complaints about the production team have emerged during the second series of the show.

Last week, James Acaster compared the experience to 'living in East Germany under Soviet control', while an unnamed star said producers were 'like human traffickers'.

In a dig at production, he added: 'People who watch the show always say, "It's just a game." That's good advice — not just to the players but to the production [staff].'

A factor of this was because they were allowed ten minutes on a producer's phone with a chaperone present.

James said: 'A member of the production team is there with you, so you can't have an authentic conversation because you can't tell them anything that's happening.

'At one point my partner said, "Have you caught the sun?" I was saying, "Oh yeah, we were outside for one of the missions". I was told I couldn't even tell her that.'

But speaking on the latest episode of her Celebrity Traitors review show, The Rest Is Entertainment host Marina Hyde encouraged the contestants to 'push it down'.

Weighing in on the talent's complaints about their treatment during the making of the show, she said: 'In the end, you're a grown up and you've got to get through it.'

Debating James's remarks on their podcast, Marina and her co-host Richard Osman had differing opinions about how stars should be treated while filming.

The hosts hinted at whispers on the 'comedy circuit' about how there is 'a lot of disquiet about how stressful people found it and what the toll on them was'.

Richard said: 'In an interview with The Times, James Acaster, he addresses The Traitors thing and he says people who watch the show say it's only a game and that's good advice. Not just to contestants, but to the production team as well. So we know this is going to become part of the conversation around the game.'

He continued: 'It is a celebrity show, but it is made by a reality show production team, Studio Lambert are the best in the business. There are ways and means of making television.

'This is the distinction I'd make, when James says, it's just a game and the production team would do well to remember that, the thing is it's not just a game - it's a television show about a game. I am certain that they'd have overstepped that the talent wishes they hadn't because their job is incredibly difficult. You need to keep things as tight as you possibly can.

'You cannot have people conversing with each other off camera, because then you're spoiling it for the viewers. You can't make the show stop, you have to have everything to tell the story.

'You can't call your family, you've been told that when you sign up for the show.'

Admitting he can see James' argument, Richard added: 'This is where I'm on the side of the talent, I do think absolutely you can't talk to each other. But I do think there's a world where you can loosen up some of those rules. When you talk to people, if it was me, as a producer it's my baby and I want it to be a big hit.'

However, Marina insisted because of the pay packet the celebrities receive and the disadvantaged people they are helping with their winnings, they need to toughen up. 

She said: 'You've got to toughen up! You're being paid £40,000 for ten days work or something, and you're doing it for disadvantaged people. So try and remember your chosen charity and just push it down. 

'I honestly think you know what it is, if you go into the game, there's a chance you might be made a traitor, I appreciate things are different once they are happening to you, but in the end, you're a grown up and you've got to get through it. I really think that people.'

Later in the episode, Richard said that he believes 'lines will have been crossed on both sides', in the name of making great television and stars who have pushed back against the rules that have been set out. 

He said: 'I'm sure it's something for a third series, lots more will come out, but there's a reason 15million watch, it's a brilliant game and brilliantly produced and edited. If you have people at the top of their game, they are sometimes going to push you too far in what they want because they are brilliant. It's what they do.

'If you're someone like James, who is very smart, sometimes they are going to not see the point of that and sometimes you're going to be right. It's a juggernaut that's really hard to make. You have to give everything of yourself. And between those two things there's going to be tension. As someone with a production background but also someone thinking how would I feel in that castle, I absolutely see both sides.

'I think we're going to hear more going forward, I think there'll be production changes for series 3.'

A spokesperson for Studio Lambert said: 'We want everyone to have a good experience, and the door is always open to discussing feedback with all players directly. 

'The Traitors is an immersive game and for the short period of filming it's important that external contact is limited to protect the integrity of the game so there can be no risk of outside influence. This is made clear to all participants ahead of them deciding to take part in the show.'

Earlier this week, an unnamed star accused the show's producers of being 'like human traffickers' in a blistering row after the celebrity was denied contact with their family.

The Sun has claimed that the contestant, who has not been named, lashed out after being told they couldn't speak to friends or family between scenes.

Producers and co-stars were reportedly left baffled, as contestants were previously told about the strict rules prior to signing up to the show.  

A source said: 'The celeb couldn't understand why they couldn't just call home – despite this being clearly explained to them at the start of the process. 

'They kicked off and in a rant, compared the team on the show to being like human traffickers.' 

Show insiders told the publication that phone rules are in place to 'protect the integrity of the game'.