Star of the UK Traitors, Amanda Collier, has revealed that the pre-show checks uncovered a life-saving diagnosis.
The former Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector, 57, revealed that a CT scan, which she was given as part of the routine medical check provided for all contestants, showed that she had "quite serious heart disease."
Amanda told BBC North West Tonight that doctors picked up slight damage to her heart after her sister had a heart attack in 2019, and she got herself checked out.
She was put on cholesterol-lowering statin pills, but when she applied to appear on The Traitors, the show's producers wanted her to have another CT scan "just to be sure."
"It has got a lot worse in the last five years. I have a gene which is causing issues with my heart, but I am now on a course of drugs, I have changed my lifestyle, and it has changed my life. The cardiologist said it's quite serious, but I am on the right path, and I will hopefully live as long as I can."
Thanks to the Traitors
Amanda continued: "I would never have noticed it because I keep myself fit and healthy. I am quite a fit person. I used to get out of bed and run a marathon, and I can't do that anymore." She added: "I'm very, very grateful for the show."
Now, Amanda is an advocate for the British Heart Foundation and has said she wants to use her platform to raise awareness of heart disease.
"I want to use what I've got, and what I have unmasked just over the last couple of weeks, to tell people that heart disease doesn't have an age; young and old people can get heart disease. It doesn't have to stop you doing what you love."
Amanda's stint on the show
Amanda's exit from the show last week became the source of one of the most dramatic moments in Traitors' history. Before her banishment, the Bolton-born contestant told Rachel that she was a former police detective, something she had previously kept under wraps from her fellow contestants.
Following Amanda's subsequent banishment, Rachel decided to share this information with the group, causing fellow Traitor Fiona to turn on Rachel, accusing her of lying, which all happened in the kitchen, in front of the entire cast. Following the ordeal, Fiona was banished from the castle on Friday's episode.