Ian Terry Opens Up About Stepping Into the Traitors Castle 5 Years After Big Brother
The former Big Brother winner and celebrated gamer gets candid about allies and feeling dejected after his Murder.
SPOILER WARNING: This story reveals major plot points from Episodes 1-3 of The Traitors Season 4.
The first cut is the deepest for every single player of The Traitors who gets sent home first. In Season 4, it was former Big Brother Season 14 winner Ian Terry.
Acknowledged by fellow players in the castle as a whip smart gamer, Ian was on paper, someone who would have been great as exposing Traitors and perhaps even made it to the finale, in the running for winning prize pot of up to $250,000.
As it turns out, the first-ever Secret Traitor also must have been very aware of the dangers of Mr. Terry because he was short-listed by as one of four potential players to be Murdered by the season's traditional Traitors in just the first episode.
Blindsided before he could even really start engaging in a strategy of play, Ian told Peacock Blog in an exclusive interview that even though it was short, he had great time in the Highlands of Scotland as a guest of Host Alan Cumming. "I really enjoyed it," he said. "I do wish it were longer, obviously."
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Below, we find out Ian's reasoning for his designation preference at the start of the game, his alliance allies, and who made him feel better about being targeted early.
Peacock Blog: What was your reaction when you learned the Traitors' identities, including the Secret Traitor?
Ian Terry: I was a little surprised. I think my main takeaway was like, 'Okay, well there were no gamers in the turret, so that explains a lot, right?' A lot harder from the perspective of a Faithful if you don't have someone who's necessarily going to advocate on your behalf in the turret. That was my main takeaway.
Did you want to be a Traitor or a Faithful going into it?
I wanted to be a Faithful. During the decision process of being picked for the show, it's something that was a common discussion in our house between my wife and I. At first, I wanted to be a Traitor because I figured you have a better chance of winning and you have more control. You can win the prize pot by yourself, right?
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But then the more I thought about it, I realized that the Faithful side just seemed to be overall more pleasant of an experience. The reception that some of the former Big Brother Traitors got was not necessarily the best from what I had read. Also, I like figuring things out more so than hiding deception. So I said the Faithful side of the game just seemed to be a more natural fit.
Doing these shows, they are fun, but at the same time, my life is much easier not doing [them], right? So, it really was just stepping outside of my comfort zone.”
What was your strategy heading into the castle, and did it change once you were there?
The one thing that had come up in my studies was that if you are a Faithful and you are perceived as intelligent, it is going to be an issue and you're likely to be murdered very quickly. Having read about the first few seasons of the British versions of the show, there were two first Murders that stuck out in particular where I was like, I have elements of both of these two players. And I said, 'I need to just downplay the intelligence a little bit and make sure that I wasn't viewed as a threat.' Obviously, that sell didn't really work and that's why I'm talking to you right now.
Was there anyone you wanted to align with?
I did align with Rob C. I mean, There was no way I was ever doing Rob dirty in any way. We go back a good 12 or 13 years at this point. He's a great guy, a good friend from the past. So I was always gonna want to work with Rob C. I'm a big fan of sports in general, so Tara Lipinksi, that was a big deal to me. I wanted to work with her as well.
There was this really sweet moment at breakfast after you were murdered where Tiffany, a fellow Big Brother legend, speaks up for you. Are you guys close friends?
I wouldn't say close, but I speak with her and I respect her a lot. And I think she's extremely intelligent, very, very refreshing, and a pleasure to be in the castle with.
She was talking about you being on The Traitors is you stepping out of your comfort zone? Can you talk about that a little bit?
I'll be very honest, Big Brother [Season] 22 left a really bad taste in my mouth. I did not have fun. For a long time after my first season that I won, I would wake up having had a nightmare that I was still playing Big Brother. Doing these shows, they are fun, but at the same time, my life is much easier not doing [them], right? So, it really was just stepping outside of my comfort zone.
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I'm naturally a very shy person, on the spectrum, and I just don't gravitate towards social situations much and these are obviously very social situations. So that's really it.
Did you get any advice from other Big Brother alums who have been on The Traitors?
I asked Britney [Haynes, Season 3] for experiential questions like, 'What do I pack? Is this fun? Should I do this show or not?' As far as preparation for the show goes, I mainly studied on my own. I watched the third season. I had never seen it prior to doing the show, and I had a couple of weeks to prepare. I said, 'Okay, I'm gonna cram.'
Who are you rooting for as the weeks move forward?
Tiffany for sure. She's just so intelligent and very nice as a person.
Have you and Rob C. connected about just your early exits?
Absolutely. I was a little dejected for a while and then when I found out that he was the one that followed me immediately out the door, I kind of said, 'I probably didn't have a whole lot to do with it and I was just culled for being perceived as smart.' I take it as a compliment and I'm sure that Rob C. also does. He's a very smart guy and I'm sure he is able to compartmentalize that.
News episodes of The Traitors Season 4 air Thursdays exclusively on Peacock.
