EastEnders favourite Tameka Empson, known for portraying Kim Fox, has labelled The Traitors “more intense than live soap nights” during a guarded chat with crew recorded by a roaming microphone and later shared with The Sun. She described the constant suspicion as “standing outside The Vic during a fire drill that never ends”.
Empson entered the castle just days after wrapping an Albert Square anniversary shoot, expecting “a fun holiday with puzzles”. Instead, strict isolation rules banned any contact with family, a contrast to soap filming where cast mates gather between takes. The Scottish Sun reports she struggled with the silence during dawn tasks, confessing to humming her own theme music to cope.
Physically, the actor faced unfamiliar challenges. A leaked call sheet details an ancient Greece obstacle course where Empson carried a mini Trojan horse across muddy ground. The task left her “aching in places I did not know existed”, yet she finished in the top half of competitors, surprising athletic doubters.
Psychologically, Empson told fellow Faithfuls she feared her expressive face would betray her. She practised a neutral gaze in her mirror each morning, inspired by years of camera blocking, only to find that other actors were performing similar drills.
The actress now calls The Traitors a masterclass in micro expressions and says the experience will inform future Kim Fox storylines. She left the castle saying, “If you can survive breakfast with nineteen liars, you can survive anything Albert Square throws at you.”
