Ruth Codd says if her time, albeit short, on The Celebrity Traitors has given her anything, it’s a new-found power to be insufferable. “From this point on, when I get a bad vibe from someone, I will recall that one time I was spot on,” she says, with a smile. After all, there’s nothing quite like being right. 

Having been bang on the money pinpointing Jonathan Ross as a Traitor, and revealing her suspicions at the roundtable last week, Codd was ‘murdered’ by Ross and his fellow Traitors: Cat Burns and Alan Carr. Did she know she was going to get targeted? “Oh yes – absolutely. I literally went home to the hotel with one of the chaperones, who was leaving the next day for a wedding, and she said, ‘I’ll see you when I get back’ and I was like, ‘You won’t, I have been murdered’. 

“If I was a Traitor, I would have murdered me too. But watching the show was so validating.”

A long-time fan of the show, Codd says being on the inaugural celebrity version was not quite what she expected it to be. “I have no words to describe it other than strange. When you’re a teenager and they ask you what you want to be, this is not where I thought I’d end up career-wise,” she says, laughing. “Other than [filming], you don’t see or hear from the other celebrities. You’re not allowed to speak outside of the game or when you’re not mic’d, which is why the game is so good. There’s really strict rules.

Ruth Codd with Claudia Winkleman on The Celebrity Traitors

“In the morning, before we get in the Land Rovers, you’re put in a car with a group of [contestants] but they have a member of production sitting in with you and if anything to do with the game starts in conversation, you’d be told you’re not allowed to talk about that. It was bizarre.”

That said, conversation restrictions don’t stop the Faithfuls and Traitors from forming friendships – which can be both a help and a hindrance to the game plan. “Everyone is super friendly and super nice and I think that’s the issue. Maybe to a certain extent, certain people are being protected because they’re mates in the industry,” she shrugs, hinting at her perceived disadvantage as one of the few contestants who knew none of her fellow celebrities before the show began.

“But it was always going to happen in the celebrity version. If I was going to do the civilian version and no one knew who I was, I would go in and just make up lies about myself. I’d go in with an accent and a beret, because that’s half the fun of the game, being able to lie about silly stuff.” 

United in their conviction about Ross being a suspicious character – especially after he denied his early attempt to form an ‘alliance’ with them – Codd became close with Clare Balding. “I knew who a lot of them were but I hadn’t met any of them personally. Clare could tell, on the first day especially, that I was a bit overwhelmed and she really took me under her wing. She was like my best bud in there; she really looked after me. One of the reasons I did come into my own in the castle was because of my friendship with Clare.” She wasn’t far behind you, I quip. Codd replies: “I can’t believe out of everyone that’s who they banish.” 

Although only being in Ardross Castle, situated in the serene Scottish Highlands, for a week – “it felt like seven years” – Codd did notice the atmosphere shifting. “On the first day, I really didn’t know [who was a Traitor] because you’re just p***ing in the wind. I half-suspected Kate [Garraway] but I didn’t know Kate and that was just her personality, so I feel really bad about that. There was so much heat on her the first day, she spent the entire rest of the time trying to act natural but in no way acting natural,” laughs Codd. 

Guilt, hurt feelings and emotions are, of course, core tenants of the game. Case in point, Mark Bonnar’s frustration and upset at being wrongly convinced that Tameka Empson was a Traitor. Codd felt this too, especially after the banishment of Niko Omilana. “I didn’t speak up because I knew that would be putting a spotlight on myself and putting me at risk. But the feeling and the guilt afterwards – because I thought his banishment was a bit brutal, unfair and unnecessary – was too much. It’s not who I am, to not speak up for other people. 

“Even though I’d only known him a couple of days, we were the two younger ones. He didn’t know anyone personally either so we had that bond. After that, I just thought I don’t care if I don’t win and I don’t care if I get murdered. I’ve got to speak my mind because that’s who I am. 

“The murders can be pretty random and you are at risk of being murdered all the time anyway. I hate puzzles, so I was never going to get a shield. I knew I was at risk and I didn’t want to go out having not been myself and given an opinion.”

So, is she going to carry on watching the drama unfold? “I don’t know what will happen. I left and then just contacted the people I was close with. I looked at Clare’s Instagram the next day and it had the little green dot and I was like, ‘She’s alive!’”

Codd was surprised at how much the intensity of the show got to her, and how it put into pin-sharp perspective just how effective herd mentality is. “I did fall victim to [herd mentality] on the first day, but also I was buried in between Paloma Faith and Stephen Fry, and I was overwhelmed. 

“I think because of my appearance and being small, sometimes people would assume I’m much softer and then, the second I open my mouth, it’s very obvious I’m none of those things,” she jokes. 

“This is the first kind of thing where I’ve put myself in the public spotlight and I really wasn’t expecting the response to be so positive but, realistically, do I care? I went to an all girl’s secondary school; there’s not really anything that can be said that hasn’t already been said. If people do come up with insults, I find it quite creative.”

Ruth Codd in The Midnight Club. Image: Netflix

Born in Wexford, Ireland, Codd had an unconventional start in the acting world and carved out a self-made spotlight thanks to social media. “I never even thought about it as a career and acting found me, but now I could never imagine doing anything else. I love it so much. I was the type of person that had every job under the sun and never stuck with anything, so acting is the [longest] job I’ve ever had. I’m five years in now, so we’re going good.” 

Codd was scouted by American filmmaker Mike Flanagan during the pandemic, when she regularly posted videos on TikTok after losing her job as a barber. Within a year, she had more than 672,000 followers and 20.5 million likes, her comedic nature proving popular not only on social media, but also with casting crews and agents. 

“They asked me to audition for a role in The Midnight Club for Netflix and I got it,” explains Codd. “I did The Midnight Club with Flanagan, then The Fall of the House Usher and then he got me back for Carrie, which is coming out next year on Prime Video. It was like going home to all my family; it was so lovely.” 

It helps, says Codd, that Flanagan works within her specialist medium: horror. “It’s my favourite. I watched all of Mike’s shows before but The Haunting of Hill House is my favourite show to ever exist. I love the kind of horror that has a storyline and emotional aspect to it. But I also love things like Final Destination where someone gets ripped in half by a rollercoaster. 

“I love acting in horror because it’s so cathartic; it’s so much fun getting to go around screaming and crying all the time.”

So far, there has been no screaming or crying in The Celebrity Traitors – but it’s safe to say emotions are high. “It’s very intense in there and you’re very immersed in the whole thing,” says Codd. “You have no contact with the outside world. I was very shocked by how much I got sucked in. I wouldn’t take back anything I did.

Image: Donal Talbot

“I’m glad I did it but I would never do it again. I thought it would be like the celebrity version of Bake Off; I didn’t think it would be that savage. But it was The Traitors, so what was I expecting?”

Some know how to play the game – and Codd has her eyes on either Burns or Celia Imrie to be crowned the winner. “If I stayed longer, Clare was the only person who could influence my opinion, so I probably would have ended up going for Alan because Clare was saying it. I would never in a million years have suspected or accused Cat – and fair play to her. She’s brilliant. I hope she wins. Can I say I hope a Traitor wins? But I do hope she wins.”

Finally, what’s the biggest lesson she learned while in the castle? “Just because nobody is backing you up or agreeing with you doesn’t invalidate your point. When I got out of that castle and got home, I spiralled and started doubting myself, questioning what I did hear and what I didn’t hear. I’ve learnt I’m not going to doubt myself. 

“It’s hard sometimes and it’s lonely standing your ground but I’m just going to be insufferable. There’s no hope now. I am only going to trust what I know to be true.”

The Celebrity Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. 

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