He was one of the OG Traitors, and last night, the Faithful (with a little help from Faithful-turned-Traitor Alex) managed to vanquish Nigel Brennan, in an emotional Banishment Ceremony.
Chatting to The Latch over the phone after his banishment from The Traitors, Nigel revealed that actually, he almost appeared on another beloved reality television competition, but life got in the way.
“I was actually approached about two years ago to go on Australian Survivor, on Brains Vs Brawn, and had to decline the opportunity because we’d just had a little boy and Omar was only three months old,” Nigel shared, adding: “My partner was like ‘you make the decision, just make sure you’re making the right decision!’ so I took that on board and obviously declined the opportunity.”
Still, his reality television journey was far from over.
“I kept in contact with [Australian Survivor production company] Endemol [Shine] and said, ‘you know, if there’s another opportunity down the line for Survivor, I’d love to’ and then a friend of mine sent me a link with the application for The Traitors online,” he said.
View this post on Instagram
After looking up the original Dutch series De Verraders that The Traitors Australia is based on, Nigel was “really excited to be involved in Season 1”, especially because he had “absolutely no idea what to expect”.
“Everyone was on the same playing field and not even understanding the rules until we actually got into the game,” he recalled.
Following his banishment from the game, Nigel is hoping that his Faithful friend Craig will be able to take out the win.
“I’d love to see Craig win,” he said. “From my perspective, he’s the most deserving.”
Noting that Craig has a daughter with special needs, Nigel went on to explain that it’s not just the “legacy” of the win that would be great for Craig, it’s the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you can provide financial security for your children in the future.
“But if Craig doesn’t win, who’s going to win?” he mused. “Look, I think Kate is playing an extremely strategic game, I’ve said she’s a cat with nine lives, I’ve tried to kill her that many times, I just couldn’t!” he laughed.
“It was so frustrating, I was like ‘come on, why can’t the Faithful do it for us!’” he continued. “In hindsight, maybe having brought Kate on [as a Traitor] instead of Alex — if I could change things, maybe that’s what I would’ve done, because she’s such a strategic player and if she wins, she’s one person who’s really played the game well.”
Related: The Traitors’ Marielle Reveals What’s Next for Her After Being Blindsided
Related: ‘The Traitors’: Hostage Negotiator Nigel Is a Traitor With an Edge
As for life after The Traitors, Nigel has big plans with his fellow alum, Craig and Justine, who are planning to organise a series of workshops together that will help people struggling with “mental health and dealing with trauma”.
“The Traitors has been a fantastic platform for all of us, and all three of us played the game with integrity and I think we’ve got a lot to offer the Australian public going forward, with what we’ve all faced and how we’ve used our experiences to also help other people,” he said.
“Hopefully early next year that’ll kick off, with some roadshows around Australia,” he said. “Justine’s backstory is amazing, being a survivor of family violence and domestic violence and Craig is a business coach, and obviously my story [is one] of dealing with trauma and resilience and stuff like that.”
View this post on Instagram
Currently, the concept is that they would have two-to-three day workshops that would visit the cities of Australia, “focussing on just how important mental health is, but also looking at toxic masculinity, just things that are at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment”.
Still, the Australian Survivor dream isn’t quite off the table just yet.
“Oh look, if I was given the opportunity to go on Survivor I would love to!” he said. “I’m going to keep my fingers crossed! It would be amazing to play with someone like Marielle in Survivor because she would be an absolute gun at something like that.”
The Traitors airs at 7.30pm, Sundays and Mondays, only on 10 and 10 Play on Demand.
Want more The Traitors? Click here to read all our content, and check out the stories below:
- ‘The Traitors’: When Will the Games Begin?
- ‘The Traitors’: Will Midy Have to Compromise His Values for the Win?
- Teresa Knows How to Control a Crowd, But Can She Win ‘The Traitors’?
- ‘The Traitors’: Claire Is Ready to Deceive Everyone for the Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Will Criminal Lawyer MK Make It to the End?
- Rodger Corser Spills on What We Can Expect From ‘The Traitors’
- ‘The Traitors’: Can Financial Investigator Paul Banish the Traitors?
- ‘The Traitors’: Puzzle Queen Olivia Is Ready for a Challenge
- ‘The Traitors’: Hostage Negotiator Nigel Is a Traitor With an Edge
- ‘The Traitors’: Real Estate Agent Matt Is One of the Good Guys (He Swears!)
- ‘The Traitors’: Competitive Mark Is Ready to Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Traitor Marielle Is Ready to Take Out the Faithfuls
- ‘The Traitors’: Cheeky Lewis Is Ready to Lie to Everyone’s Faces
- ‘The Traitors’: Kate Is Ready to Be Devious for the Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Will Law Student Kashindi Defeat the Traitors?
- ‘The Traitors’: Justine Won’t Let Anyone Take the Win From Her
- ‘The Traitors’: Fiona Is Expecting to Be Underestimated
- ‘The Traitors’: Ethan Is Ready to Burn Bridges to Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Hotel Concierge Dirk Is Ready to Lie for the Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Body Language Expert Craig Is Ready to Find the Traitors
- ‘The Traitors’: Clairvoyant Chloe Can See Herself As the Winner
- ‘The Traitors’: Traitor Angus Is Excited to Be the Villain
- ‘The Traitors’: Will Miss Universe Finalist Alex Charm Her Way to the End?
- Everyone Who’s Been Banished or Murdered on ‘The Traitors’
- The Traitors’ Mark Reveals the Most Surprising Part of the Game and Who He Thinks Will Win
- ‘The Traitors’: Does Claire Think Nigel and Marielle Can Make It to the End?
- The Traitors’ Angus on Being a Traitor and Who He Thinks Will Win
- The Stunning Hotel Where ‘The Traitors’ Was Filmed
- The Rules of ‘The Traitors’, Explained
- ‘The Traitors’: Chloe Explains Her Decision to Quit the Game
- The Traitors’ Marielle Reveals What’s Next for Her After Being Blindsided
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.