Paul Gorton has been dubbed the villain of this year’s The Traitors, shocking fans with his ‘Oscar-worthy’ acting skills and being unafraid to throw his fellow contestants under the bus.
Wednesday’s dramatic episode – the most watched ever of the show – saw him evade suspicion yet again as he convinced the Faithfuls of his innocence by blaming Miles Asteri for Diane Carson’s murder.
His actions have divided viewers, with many desperate to see him found out by the Faithfuls and banished, while others praised him for providing entertainment.
Yet while he’s embracing his villainous side for the gameshow, in real life Paul likes to make everyone life as an amateur comic and is also a loving husband and father, with his social media littered with sweet family snaps.
Now MailOnline takes a look at Paul’s life away from the cameras.
Business manager Paul, 36, has been loved up with wife Kate for more than a decade and together they share son Charlie, 21 months.
The couple previously lived in London but relocated to Manchester to be closer to family, with Kate giving her Instagram followers an insight into their family life with an array of sweet snaps.
Kate works as a model and social media star and was formerly a Playboy playmate.
Showing her support for Paul when the Traitors first aired, she took to Instagram to share a selection of sweet snaps together.
She captioned the images: ‘First week of The Traitors done and he’s absolutely smashed it!!
‘I don’t post much about @paulgorton on here on my little fashion page but I am so proud of him and have always known he’s a star so here’s an appreciation post for him with just a small handful of some of our memories together over the past nearly 11 years.’
Paul works in sales and previously revealed that it would serve as a strength when being a Traitor.
He explained: ‘People think that with a poker face you always have to be stern, be stoic and not show emotion, I disagree with that…’
Paul continued: I think if you can show happiness when you’re really sad or sadness when you’re really happy, those are better qualities…
‘Reading people is another strength that I think I will bring when I go in, because I think I can see it in people’s face when something has changed.
‘I fancy myself here a little bit. I’m in the corporate world and that type of environment happens quite often; where you’re sat in a room and you’re being grilled and you’re defending yourself.
‘I’ve been in that situation quite a few times before. So, I think this is perfect.’
Paul’s personable qualities served him well in his foray into stand up comedy.
He previously performed stand-up at the Comedy Store in London, which he believed would also help him in The Traitors.
He mused: ‘If I can get comedy in there then I think it’s a really powerful tool to bond people and maybe diffuse situations when they get so tense.
‘Maybe I can be a little bit of a comfort blanket and a distraction in that way. I guess last year there was no one in there that was exactly like me which is a good thing. Hopefully, I can have my own little niche.’
Paul also once hosted his own TV show in a bid for fame.
He started his long media career fronting Quest for the Backflip on the Extreme Sports Channel way back in 2011.
The four-part series followed the amateur sportsman as he attempted to master the art of doing a backflip on his BMX bike.
Quest for the Backflip’s official synopsis reads ‘Paul Gorton was once an avid rider who, due to work and education commitments, had to put down his bike’.
‘Seven years later, Paul is a media sales agent who hasn’t touched a BMX since. Before giving up on his riding career, Paul had a list of tricks he was slowly ticking off as he completed them.
‘The Backflip was next on the list when his wheels stopped turning, and he has lived with this one regret ever since.
‘Over the Summer of 2011 Paul will be stepping foot on a BMX for the first time in 7 years and attempting to cross that final trick off his list.
‘From getting to grips with riding, re-learning his old favourite tricks to finding his feet again and settling into the riding scene, this is going to be an unusual adventure for someone revisiting a fond past-time that now lies long forgotten.
A personal journey, hopefully of triumph over regret, we will be capturing everything from the day Paul buys his new bike, to the final day of flip or fail.’
Paul is also a regular guest on comedian Joe Wilkinson’s Chatabix podcast alongside comedian David Earl.
A clip of one episode was shared to TikTok which showed Paul first being told of the BBC series after it’s 2022 premiere and was urged to apply after he claimed ‘he’d win’ the show.
He also appeared on Deal Or No Deal with Noel Edmonds in 2010.
Paul was just 22 at the time of filming, unemployed, and was living at his mum’s house in Warrington with his girlfriend.
He hoped the show would land him a modelling deal, as well as potentially a £250,000 cash boost.
However, he came away from the episode with a small fraction of the top prize – as well as huge respect for the show’s legendary host.
Paul said: ‘I don’t know whether that was just me, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. You know, some people are just born for the job they’re in. He was born to be a host on that show. He did it so well.’
The Traitors airs at 9pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on BBC One and iPlayer
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Rebecca Lawrence
