The Traitors gives former Australian reality TV stars a chance to return to the public eye in a completely new light.
From mending bridges broken on The Bachelor ten years prior (I’m looking at you, Alex Nation and Keira Maguire) to proving just how strategic a Love Island contestant can be, season three of this devious game of deception has been equal parts intense and a breath of fresh air for those involved.
For Luke Packham, returning to the spotlight wasn’t a decision he took lightly, with the former The Block and Love Island star reflecting with WHO on how unfairly he was painted on those reality TV shows in the past.
However, it was the “gameplay” aspect of The Traitors that intrigued and ultimately convinced this infamous personality to join the show.
While he admits it was “tough” and required a “strong mental core”, Luke unpacked the brutal behind-the-scenes of the game and explained why he still preferred it much more than his time on The Block or Love Island.
How did Luke Packham leave The Traitors Australia?
Luke and his twin Josh Packham were very vocal on the show, with many fans criticising their “confidence” and pinning it as their downfall.
The player agreed with the second point, admitting that he knew the next time he got a traitor wrong, he was “going to be on the chopping block”.
However, despite the complaining, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the twins did, in fact, catch two traitors in a row (Alvin Quah and Alex Nation) and while they may have steered the ship wrong after this success, at least they were actually trying to play the game and not sit back and cruise through.
Luke confessed “some moments [he’s] loved” watching back, and “other moments, [he’s] had to bite the pillow while [he’s been] watching”, kicking himself knowing the truth in hindsight.
“It is really frustrating [watching it back],” he said. “There were so many conversations about other people that I was not aware of and a lot of evidence that was never shared with me, and I’m like, ‘This is news to me! This could have really helped! I would have been happy to be the mouthpiece!”
In the end, a death match between him and his brother was what sent him home.
“It was tough,” he told WHO about his dramatic final moments. “But it certainly would have been a lot tougher if I lost anyone else in the house.
“It was a nice little brotherly intimate moment where I could actually say goodbye. How often in The Traitors do you get to give someone a hug goodbye before being banished or murdered? If I was going to go out to anyone, I’m glad it was my brother.”
‘One reality TV day feels like a week’
On the show, Luke admitted that the only time he and his brother weren’t talking about gameplay was when Luke was talking about how much he missed his family back home, revealing just how brutal being disconnected for them.
“My wife was pregnant, and she was looking after our little girl [while I was on the show],” he said. “That was the only other thing I’d say to him: ‘I miss my family. I’m finding it tough.’ But besides that, it was all gameplay.
“It’s always tough, especially when you have no contact or anything like that, it’s tough. One reality TV day feels like a week. It really, really does. It’s a slog.”
Having already been on both The Block and Love Island, Luke isn’t a stranger to Australian reality TV, and confessed that the average working day is much longer than audiences would expect.
“It goes for a long time,” he said. “There are so many emotions involved. When you get to come home from work, you get to give your family a hug and a kiss and unwind with them; you don’t get that in gameplay.”
While he loved the focus that this kind of game provided, he explained how he “missed” the outside world.
How does The Traitors compare to other reality TV shows?
Despite the mental intensity of The Traitors, he still described his experience as far better than anything he had been on before.
“It was like my first gameplay show, and I was really looking forward to it,” he said. “For a long time, I was never really keen to do reality TV anymore.
“But when The Traitors popped up, I was like, ‘Absolutely, I want to give this a go.’
“I’ve done other shows and this one, it was my best experience by far for reality TV. I really enjoyed it.”
Luke added: “I felt it was fair how it has all played out. There’s no bettering other contestants or anything like that. On The Block, I felt that a little bit, and on Love Island too.
“The Traitors is just a fair game. Everyone has a fair crack. Obviously, the traitors have a different advantage, but at the same time, it’s heavy to wear that cloak. So, that’s why I loved every aspect of The Traitors.“
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