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The Traitors star Theo Mayne on importance of diversity and how the show gave him confidence as an emotional gay man-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro
‘I’m gonna embrace who I am.’
The Traitors star Theo Mayne went on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the show (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Ma)
Theo Mayne is ready to embrace life as his most authentic self following his banishment from The Traitors.
The cheerleading coach joined 21 strangers to play the game of a lifetime in Claudia Winkleman’s new BBC gameshow, which has had the whole nation hooked.
Alas, the Traitors triumphed when the group of Faithfuls voted him out, cutting his experience short as well as any chance of securing the £120,000 prize.
But, Theo, 26, assures he has ‘no regrets’ and, actually, is very grateful for how the show built up his confidence.
In episode 7, he became incredibly emotional at the dinner party as he reflected on his journey and thanked his fellow players for accepting him as a gay man.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, he praised the diverse casting and explained how emotional it was to watch back his speech, which also left his mum and sister in tears.
Theo is proud to have cried on TV (Picture: BBC)
‘It’s nice to see such a diverse cast and, well, I tick all the boxes: gay, mixed heritage, I’m northern! But, for me, it was about showing that diversity is key in the modern world.
‘The gay community still gets overlooked massively. In some countries, you still can’t marry the same sex. But just knowing it’s ok to cry on TV, it’s ok to be a man and to cry on TV, let alone be a gay man and cry on TV, I just want to be that beacon of light for people and for them to know that you can talk about your problems and you shouldn’t be ashamed.’
He added that everyone should be able to be ‘100% yourself’, ‘no matter what background you come from or who you are as a person’.
He praised the show for its diverse casting (Picture: BBC)
‘Hopefully the show will give me what I need to get my voice out there and bring more traction to the LGBTQ+ community, hopefully I can be a new icon!’
Theo went on to reflect on his earlier life, admitting that he didn’t start becoming fully confident in himself until the age of 25.
‘Watching [the show] back, I know anything I put my mind to, I can do. I’m 100% more confident in myself and what I look like. I’m just gonna embrace who I am and just take the world by storm while being myself and making people laugh.
The cheerleading coach threw himself into all the missions to build up the prize pot (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Llara Plaza)
Theo is proud to have been himself on the game show (Picture: Christophe Bayle)
‘I feel so confident and I feel proud, and I’ve done my family proud.’
Theo says his main goal when he signed up for the show was always to ‘inspire others’ and spread the message that great things can happen if you ‘step out of your comfort zone’ – and he did exactly that.
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‘I wouldn’t change anything for the world,’ he said of his experience.
‘My mum’s words when I went in were: “Just be yourself”, and I did that.’
The Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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