Joe Marler reveals how much he was paid on Celebrity Traitors as he opens up on the family bereavement that nearly saw him leave the hit TV show

Former England rugby star Joe Marler has revealed he pocketed £30,000 from appearing on the Celebrity Traitors following the show's dramatic final last week.

Marler, alongside singer Car Burns, actor Nick Mohammed, historian David Olusoga and comedian Alan Carr, reached the final of the show that had captivated millions across the country over the last two months.

The 35-year-old was the star of the faithfuls, leading the army that eliminated traitor Jonathan Ross earlier in the show before correctly working out Burns and Carr were the remaining traitors in the final.

He failed, though, to convince his other two faithfuls and was voted out at the final hurdle, with his team losing - eventual winner Carr winning the £87,500 prize money for charity Neuroblastoma UK.

The stars, though, were paid to go on the show too. But not all the same amount, Marler explained to The Times. He said: 'Daisy [his wife] read that too [that he got paid £40,000]. She said to me, "Hold on, I thought you only got 30?" I said, "Yeah, I did". 

'I don't think everyone got paid the same. But I'm not bothered. It was 30 grand whether you lasted two days or three weeks - a no-brainer.'

Marler hadn't heard of Olusoga, one of the players he failed to convince of his truth in the final few minutes of the show.

But only three had heard of him, he revealed: Ross, Clare Balding, and Joe Wilkinson.

He continued: 'The majority didn't know who I was. Most of them thought I was a production guy lugging stuff around. That played in my favour. I'd heard of all of them except Niko [Omilana], David, and Ruth [Codd]. In celebrity terms, I was out of my depth. And then, when they did get to know me a bit, they thought I was weird.' 

Marler also revealed he nearly didn't make it through to the final because of being away from his family. Used to long rugby tours, the actual time away was easy, but his wife's nan died, and he was set to leave until Daisy told him not to.

'The producers already knew she was terminally ill, so I went to them and said, "That's me done",' he said. 'They were great. I was leaving, then Daisy rang back and said, "Look, there's not a lot you can do right now, so just stay up there until you get kicked out".

'That was the moment that I was like, "Right, I've had enough of this impostor syndrome. I'm gonna ramp it up, go hell for leather and if I get banished or murdered, it's a win, I can go home".'

Marler didn't go home until the end of the show, but left as a cult hero to the millions of viewers watching on and could now be set for another stint on prime time television.

He has been tipped for a major role with the BBC in the future - nothing has yet materialised, but his post-rugby career could be about to properly take off.