Andrew from The Traitors has revealed what happened that left him “pronounced dead” with a head injury in his twenties.
The 45-year-old insurance broker from Talbot Green is one of this year’s contestants on the BBC One reality game show.
On signing up for the series, Andrew said: I loved last year’s show, I was really immersed in it and just loved the format. I like the game play and thought I could be good at it. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been going through a personal growth journey where I’ve been trying to learn a lot about myself – I’ve grown a lot.
“I want to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve been a Steady Eddy all my life I suppose, never taking any risks or challenges.”
What happened to Andrew?
Andrew has opened up about a life changing head injury that left him on the edge of death.
He shared candidly: “I believe I have an inspiring story; I was pronounced dead on the side of the road 23 years ago and I was in a coma for nearly five weeks. My parents were told I’d never walk ever again, I had brain damage and that there’s a chance of me not waking up from my coma.
“My parents were told that if I did wake up, I’d never walk, talk or use my arms again and I may not recognise them. They were told to prepare for the worst. There’s lots of things that happened to me, and the doctors call me a miracle patient.”
He continued: “I met the man who saved my life last year. I met him and I shook his hand and said thank you for saving my life. There are not many people out there who get a chance to see somebody who saved their life and say thank you. It was a very emotional thing.
“I’ve had hundreds of people messaging me to say that they found my story inspiring and that’s led them to open up and start talking to their family. I want to inspire people, I believe I can inspire thousands and hopefully, with this exposure, millions of people. I think I’ve only just scratched the surface of this, and I want to continue that really.”
Plans for the prize money
Andrew says his past has left him with noble ambitions should he win the show.
Asked how he’d spend any prize money, Andrew revealed: “I’d pay off a couple of debts and the usual boring stuff. But my dream is that I’d love to help people. I would like to set up some form of business. I love the gym, I love coaching, I love physical stuff. The gym is my safe haven. It’s been my happy place for the last 20 odd years.
“I’d like to do something like personal training but also help people with their mental health. My NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) qualification means I’ll be a qualified coach. I want to try and intertwine the two, look after people’s physical health and mental health together. I’d love to get out of bed in the morning and change people’s lives.”
And quizzed on how he’d handle being a traitor, Andrew added: “I’ll do whatever it takes, within reason. I don’t mind throwing people under the bus, it’s me or them at the end of the day. I’ll just think of my family, my son, I want to make them proud and I want a better life for them.
“I’m a nice person deep down and when my family are watching on the TV, they will know the real me. They know me, they know my morals and that I’m a nice person. On The Traitors, you’re just playing a game, a game that you have to get totally immersed in.”
The Traitors airs on BBC One on Wednesday – Fridays at 9PM.
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