We spoke to Jaz Singh, one of the standout contestants on The Traitors Season 2 (UK) which aired on BBC One during January.
Hi Jaz! How are you doing today?
Jaz Singh: Hey, Conor! Thank you for having me, I really appreciate it. I’m feeling good. It’s like therapy, getting all of this off my chest, because I was told ‘keep it to yourself’.
Now, it’s just like ‘thank God’, I can tell everyone all my thoughts and feelings. Yeah. thank you for having me. I’ve been looking forward to it.
The last episode of The Traitors Season 2 came out a few nights ago, as of when we’re talking. Was it difficult to keep secret that you were on the show, as well as your final outcome?
Jaz Singh: 100%. I told four people going in to that game – my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, my mum and my wife. They all did a great job, to tell the truth, keeping it a secret.
The only thing was, they assumed because I had stayed there the entire time, when I came back they were absolutely over the moon. They thought, ‘You’ve won it. You’ve absolutely won this show.’ It was actually, ‘No, can we have a chat?’ I needed to tell them straight away because I didn’t want to be walking around the house, like, really being a bit weird.
It was literally explaining to them about the situation that happened. When I went to see my father-in-law and mother-in-law, they went, ‘Don’t tell us, we don’t want to know. We want to wait until it comes out. We know you stayed the entire time’. They’re not even looking at me when we’re having the conversation.
I was like, ‘I didn’t win the cash prize’. Now that it’s come out, now that everyone’s seen what actually happened, oh my God. It’s been absolutely incredible for everyone to know what I went through.
More importantly, exactly how the nation is feeling, I felt like that just me. I felt like the nation. That was literally all inside of me and I had to keep it locked up, which was super difficult.
Speaking as a viewer, I’m not sure there’s much more you could’ve done. You played an amazing game. I think you were just unlucky that Harry was so good as a Traitor and he proved a formidable opponent in the end.
Jaz Singh: Thank you. Yeah, absolutely. I said in an earlier interview, with a Faithful and a Traitor, they’re two completely separate roles. In my personal, humble opinion, a Traitor has to not get caught through lying, that’s one thing. You’ve got one job responsibility, if you like.
As a Faithful, not only do you have to not get caught through telling the truth, which is one job responsibility. The second job responsibility is trying to find out who the Traitors are. Added on with the ball of anxiety as you’re trying to go to sleep.
Was I murdered? Will I make it to breakfast?
Three different sets of responsibility as pressures, as opposed to just the one. Plus, the advantage of being a Traitor – you’re in control. You don’t have to worry going to sleep, because you know, ‘I’m still going to be here’.
It’s so difficult being a Faithful and you do have to work really hard.
You mentioned on Uncloaked that you had wanted to be a Traitor going in to The Traitors Season 2. Were you able to reverse-engineer your thinking by looking out for signs to suss them out?
Jaz Singh: Yeah, potentially. I think going in with the mindset of being a Traitor, you’ve just hit the nail on the head there. I used it to my advantage. If I was a Traitor, maybe that’s what helped propel me try to spot and analyse certain things and behaviours. Certain conversations that really struck a bit of danger.
I think the other thing is when you’re going through the phase of Traitor mindset. Then, at the beginning, you don’t get that tap on the shoulder. You have to completely switch up and adapt so quickly.
It’s fair to say there’s so many people who have tried to apply to get on this show. You’re so grateful to actually be chosen and selected, to be part of something so massive.
Like I said on Uncloaked, it’s a matter of adapting quickly to that change. Really, really putting in the work. I suppose it did help.
If someone asks me, would you last longer as a Traitor? What would you do as a Traitor? I wouldn’t be able to give a good, fair, valid answer in terms of what I would do as a Traitor.
I am team Faithful, all the way. As a Traitor, I probably would’ve lasted one or two days. If they would’ve stabbed me in the back or someone else could’ve spotted me lying. There’s so many ifs, buts and maybes to that scenario.
I’m super grateful to have chosen as a Faithful and deliver.
Do any particular moments on the missions stand out in The Traitors Season 2, having experienced all of it?
Jaz Singh: The final mission, I just can’t put into words how amazing that was. Getting collected by a helicopter, going through these caves, getting on to that ship. It was just incredible. I can’t even put it into words how it felt. It was sensational; it just exceeded all expectations completely.
Obviously, money can’t buy that feeling of ‘we don’t know what to expect or what we’re going into’. Credit where due to Studio Lambert for creating this – it was just immense.
In addition to the final episode, I would say it’s the moment where I was team captain. I was really a quiet character back then. The group manoeuvred me and pushed me from the back to the front. I always stood in the middle to the back.
I was pushed to the front, [with them] saying, ‘Go on Jaz, you can do this. You’re going to be a good captain.’ I’m thinking, ‘you’re putting your trust in me, guys.’
Now you’ve done that, you’ve given me an opportunity. Watch what I’m going to do for you. I’m going to make sure we win this. I’m going to work collaboratively and take on everything you say. We’ve got very minimal time, but let’s just go out there and smash it.
I was so happy to be team captain and won. We saved Andrew, it was a great moment that day. Loved that mission so much.
Thank you for taking the time to chat, Jaz. Well done again for your performance on the show, really great job. All the best to you!
Jaz Singh: Lovely, thank you so much Conor, I really appreciate it. My Instagram followers are going through the roof. I started off with 800!
Follow writer Conor O’Brien on Twitter
A lifelong TV and Film buff, Conor founded Courageous Nerd in 2019. He has conducted hundreds of interviews for the site, as well as written comprehensive feature articles on a variety of topics. You can find him on X: @conorrcn.
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