Going into last night’s Banishment Ceremony on The Traitors Australia, Ash Pollard “did have a little bit of hope”. Unfortunately for her, that hope did not pay off, and she was banished from the game, after her fellow Traitor, Sam, turned on her.
Ash recalls what was going through her mind as her name was read out.
“You do kind of get that little upset feeling, but then you’ve gotta remind yourself, ‘this is the game’, you know?” she says. “You could get voted out at any second. I was sad, but then I was like ‘oh, I’ll get to go and see my kids, so don’t cry!'”
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Why Ash Wanted to Join The Traitors Australia
Chatting to The Latch over the phone, Ash says that she “really loved the first season” of The Traitors. When the opportunity to compete on the second season came up, she couldn’t resist.
A reality TV veteran, Ash first hit the scene in 2015, when she competed on My Kitchen Rules. Since then, she’s been a fixture on our screens and airwaves, having competed on Dancing With the Stars and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, as well as hosting various radio segments. Still, The Traitors was an all-new challenge for her.
“I’ve not actually participated in a reality show where you have to be that conniving,” Ash explains. “So I kind of thought that would be a really interesting challenge for me. I thought I would actually be really good at deceiving people! It turns out, maybe I’m not!”
She laughs.
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On Becoming a Traitor
Recalling the moment when she was selected to be one of the game’s Traitors, Ash says she was “so excited!”.
“I thought ‘this is perfect!’” she says. “You kind of think you’re safe, because you’re a Traitor.”
While the Traitors of the game are in the minority, Ash says it’s a role that comes with power.
“You’ve got a leg up, because you can murder people every single night, you know,” she says. “You can play the game and direct the game how you see fit, basically. So that was definitely an advantage, and I was thrilled about it, until the end of the first day, and I was like ‘crap, this is actually really hard!’”
Of course, as with any reality competition, there’s an element of expectations versus reality, and as Ash has watched the show back, she’s been reminded that “hindsight’s a wonderful thing”.
“I’ve obviously been watching the episodes going ‘WHY DID I DO THAT?!’ or ‘I should’ve done that!’ but that’s it, you know?” she says. “Whatever you do, you just don’t know if it’s going to work for you or against you! It’s so volatile, the whole thing.”
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On Being Betrayed, and Where Sam and Blake Go From Here
Until Ash first heard her name thrown around, she was all in on her Traitors alliance.
“We were up in Traitors Tower that first night and I said to them, ‘Guys, I have got your back, have you got my back?’ and we were all like ‘Yeah, absolutely!’” she says. “And then, you know, Sam just thinks he’s running the joint and off he goes with his own agenda!”
After Sam first threw Ash’s name out, word soon got back to her — a moment she describes as “anxiety inducing”.
“It’s like you’re on the school playground, and you’ve just heard that someone’s bitching about you. You know that feeling? It’s awful!” she says. “And you just become paranoid! Because in that moment, that’s your life. You don’t have any connection to the outside world. You’re in it, and you’re just trying to not die, or be murdered. So it’s stressful!”
As for Sam and Blake?
“I’m a firm believer in that… I think Sam’s dug his own grave, frankly,” she says. “And I say that in the car, as I’m leaving the mansion.”
The reason for this, she says, is that she feels Sam has “gone too early” making a big play.
“I understand his gameplay, but I also think you’ve gotta consider that you can get caught out!” she says. “It’s a game that can change at any time.”
The Traitors Australia airs tonight at 7.30pm, only on 10 and 10 Play on Demand. Miss an episode? Catch up on 10 Play.
Want more The Traitors? Read all our content here, and check out the stories below:
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- The Stunning Hotel Where ‘The Traitors’ Was Filmed
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- Meet Michelle, the Admin Behind Reality TV’s Favourite Facebook Groups
- Well Well Well, It’s Time to Meet ‘The Traitors’ of 2023
- Travel, Puppies, and Love: What Alex From ‘The Traitors Australia’ Is Doing Right Now
- ‘The Traitors Australia’ 2023: Everyone Who’s Been Murdered and Banished
- Bamboozled About When ‘The Traitors’ Airs? We Have Got You Sorted
- ‘The Traitors’ 2023 Is Almost Here, So It’s Time for an Instagram Deep Dive
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