Celia Imrie says The Celebrity Traitors might bring out her “naughty streak”

Well, it’s the most talked about game on television, isn’t it? On both sides of the Atlantic – worldwide in fact. I just think it’s such a clever invention. I’d love to meet the person who thought it up.

What will you bring to the game?

It’s a very good thing to remain as open as possible, really. But people think I’m nice, which could be useful.

Are you good at reading people, would you say? Can you spot a liar?

Yes, but I’ve got to have time. I don’t think it’s an instant thing. I want to give myself time to scrutinise their body language.

Do you want to be a Traitor or a Faithful?

I don’t really mind – if Claudia’s hand goes on my shoulder, I’ll be ecstatic with excitement. But I do think it’s quite a hard job.

We recently spoke to you for your role in The Thursday Murder Club — was all that mystery and murder good practice?

In a strange sort of way, yes. More generally, I suppose, being an actor, you do spend your life pretending to be somebody else, so that’s quite an advantage. But it is also a horror, because you haven’t got a character to hide behind here. It’s quite exposing.

It’s true, we rarely see Celia Imrie “as herself”…

In my autobiography I say that actresses are likened to Victorian young girls sitting round a ballroom on their gilt chairs waiting to be asked to dance. We all have to wait for the part to come along. Yes, I could play Hedda Gabler in my attic but there’s nobody to tell me how good I am. If I was Van Gogh, I could create a painting in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t need an audience. The only thing I have tried to do in terms of control in my career is to attempt to try and do something as different to the last thing so as not to be pigeonholed. And this, to be a player of The Traitors, is as different to anything else I have ever done.

Speaking of the game — how do you feel about the Missions?

I’m quite nervous about them. I watched a bit of the first series where people were upside down on one of those wheels. That would give me the absolute heebie jeebies. I wouldn’t want to be a bad sport, but I really wouldn’t want to do that. I’m not mad about heights – I used to love fairground rides when I was younger, but not now.

You’ve watched the previous series — do you have a favourite player?

The young soldier boy, Harry Clark [from series two]. I was so on his side all the way through, and then I thought he was a wretch at the end!

Clearly, the game changes people — will we might see a different side to you?

Yes, quite possibly. I have a naughty streak that I find hard to suppress.

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