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The Traitors star Paul suffered collapsed lung month before filming that almost cost him his spot on the show

Paul was the ultimate panto villain

The Traitors 2024 star Paul almost didn’t appear on our screens, thanks to a life-threatening injury that saw him rushed into hospital.

Paul’s journey on the show has enthralled viewers of the hit BBC show, with the 36-year-old proving to be quite the Marmite character before his banishment this week.

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The Traitors 2024 star Paul talks horror injury

Speaking to OK! magazine recently, Traitors star Paul revealed that he suffered a collapsed lung that almost meant he couldn’t appear on the show.

The accident happened during a football match when someone “banged” into him. It happened just four weeks before he went off to Scotland to film the show.

“My lung collapsed. I was outside A&E, screaming and crying, and I was on morphine and CAT scans and all that type of stuff,” he said.

“I nearly had an emergency operation to re-inflate my lung because it had depressed so much, and yeah, it was chaos,” he then continued.

Paul on The Traitors
Paul was banished this week (Credit: BBC)

Paul’s collapsed lung

“They also couldn’t give me the painkillers that I needed to be on because it affected my body in a different way. So I went through all this type of stuff, and then in the back of my brain, I was going, ‘Oh my God, in four weeks I’m actually going on The Traitors,” he then said.

Paul then went on to tell how his partner, Kate, looked after him during his recovery. Together, they share a one-year-old son, Charlie.

Speaking to the publication, Paul confessed that he couldn’t pick his son up for some time due to the injury.

While filming the show, Paul was concerned that his lung would deflate again during the first challenge, which involved swimming in a lake.

He also revealed that he didn’t tell anyone about his injury as he didn’t want it to come across as a “sob story”.

Paul was banished from the show on Thursday night (January 18) after fellow traitor Harry turned on him.

Ross on The Traitors
Ross is a new traitor (Credit: BBC)

The Traitors 2024: Ross is recruited

Last night’s episode of The Traitors ended on a massive cliffhanger, with Ross being recruited to become a new traitor.

Harry and Andrew thought they had Ross right where they wanted him. However, after learning why his mum, Diane, was murdered, Ross announced his plan for revenge.

“She was getting too brave, so we put her in her place,” Harry said when asked why they’d murdered Diane.

Ross clearly wasn’t happy with this. “I could feel myself going to boiling point,” he told the camera after. “My mum was murdered, so I will take revenge. If I’ve got an opportunity, they’re getting it.”

“DO IT ROSS THIS IS THE ONE CHANCE TO SAVE THE SEASON SEND HARRY HOME,” one viewer tweeted. 

“Harry is gonna get his karma when Ross comes for him,” another said. “This man is already plotting Harry’s murder my god the revenge of Ross is going to be incredible to witness,” a third wrote. 

Read more: The Traitors star Harry’s famous girlfriend jokes she will ‘never trust him again’ following betrayal of Paul

The Traitors continues on Wednesday, January 24 at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Players get DEFENSIVE in this tough round table 😱  | The Traitors - BBC

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer

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