The Traitors saved my life, says contestant Amanda Collier

Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the new series of The Traitors.

A former detective who appeared on The Traitors was told she had a serious heart condition during medical checks carried out on all contestants before they go on the show.

Amanda Collier, who is originally from Bolton but now lives in Brighton, was eliminated from the BBC One show at the round table on Thursday.

The now retired 57-year-old said she was diagnosed with “quite serious heart disease” after she had a CT scan before taking part in the show.

The former faithful said the condition runs in her family – but without the “due diligence” of the show she would never have known the extent of it.

Collier, who used to work as a senior Metropolitan Police detective, was banished from the castle shortly after revealing her secret identity to her closest friend in the castle, traitor Rachel Duffy.

She was the seventh player to leave the castle in the fourth UK series of the show hosted by Claudia Winkleman in which the group split into Faithfuls and Traitors, with the former looking to find the latter before the traitors can “murder” them.

She said the news has enabled her to get medication change her lifestyle.

“If I hadn’t had the scan I would still be running around doing what I’ve always done – [such as] half marathons which put a massive strain on your heart,” she said.

Collier – originally from Farnworth – said she is still active but sticks to doing short bursts of exercise like HIT classes rather than long-distance running.

She said: “The good news is that I’m now on a course of drugs and I’ve changed my lifestyle, and I’m regularly checked by the NHS so I’m in a good place.”

She added: “I’m very, very grateful for the show.”

Collier now volunteers by taking people with disabilities or conditions such as dementia out on trips.

Now an advocate for the British Heart Foundation, she said she wants to use her platform to raise awareness of heart disease.

“I want to tell people heart disease doesn’t have an age… young people get it,” she said.

“It doesn’t have to stop you doing what you love”.

As well as her life-changing diagnosis, Collier said she had an “amazing” time on the show.

She described it as “intense, fun and nerve-wracking” and said the missions were “absolutely hilarious”.