I was on The Traitors now I’m a Premier League doctor living my dream – I have to pinch myself as it doesn’t feel real
HE was ‘executed’ in dramatic fashion by a kiss of death in the first series of The Traitors.
But the memorable telly demise wasn’t the end of Dr Amos Ogunkoya, rather it was the beginning of a dream year that resulted in him becoming a first team doctor in the Premier League.
Huge football fan Amos was snapped up by Luton Town and now spends his weekends on the sidelines at iconic stadiums around the country.
Such is the feel good factor at his club, who shocked the footballing world with promotion from the Championship last year, that there are days when he simply can’t stop smiling.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, he says: “I’ve loved it, honestly. Sometimes when you’re at Old Trafford and you run onto the pitch and you’re at Villa Park and run onto the pitch, it’s amazing. Sometimes there’s a pinch me moment because it’s the Premier League, but I am just doing my job. I’ve got an incredible team around me in terms of physios, therapists and yeah, I love it.
“I genuinely… sometimes I’m on the training ground, and I’m smiling to myself, and everyone’s thinking I’m an idiot. In no other job are you genuinely just working with your mates, and you’re in it together.
“It’s almost the opposite to Traitors, in fact it’s the antithesis to Traitors, if one of us goes, we all go with them. I don’t ever feel like I’m by myself when I’m with them. Sometimes we do give each other stick, but that’s what families do. But yeah, it’s the opposite to Traitors. It’s actually just a massive contrast.”
The club’s famous ground Kenilworth Road is cherished for its unique structure at the heart of a residential area, with away fans having to enter through terrace housing.
It creates a fun, homely feel to an away day, and Amos says that the family vibe runs through every element of the club.
“Luton Town is an amazing club,” he says. “I have to say that on record. It’s a family club, and when I say family I mean legitimately. Like the chairman and I speak when I see him around and we chat.
“The CEO, I see him, he literally called me family. We are very close. The unity that you see on the pitch… there’s something special about that club.
“It’s down to the culture. So, the Premier League circus, I don’t think I’ve really been exposed to it because when you travel to these teams, you’re in your family, in your unit, and when they come to Kenilworth Road they’re in our house, and I don’t think it will ever change.”
Sometimes there’s a pinch me moment because it’s the Premier League
Amos Ogunkoya
While the Traitors cast were a family of sorts and firm friendships have been forged off the back of the show, Amos admits it was a traumatic experience and it’s difficult to watch the new series which launched this week.
The programme is undeniably TV gold, with bumper viewing figures and a Bafta gong testament to that, but for those involved there is a heavy burden to pay.
Amos says: “I mean, I’m really grateful for the opportunities the show has given me. But I’ve almost forgotten about the element of ‘trauma’. It’s just a game, but because you have to live it, it’s like a live-action thing, it becomes very real.”
Fortunately, Amos was able to draw on his experience in the medical profession to distance himself from the emotive language thrown around on the show, particularly around death and murder.
He says: “I am a doctor, so I’m acutely aware when someone what it’s like when someone dies or gets murdered so the words murder and banish, whilst they’re quite emotive, I knew the guy was probably just in the airport getting a cocktail or something.
“When I got ‘murdered’, people reacted like I actually was dead. I was shocked by that. But I love the people who did it, but because you never see them again, and you never think you’re gonna see them again because of how the show is set up and how they film it. So those emotions are really real and how your body reacts to trauma is really non-specific, like you can know full well, logically, that there’s a real world your family is a week away, but in that moment, the your support network, when your friend is gone, is gone.”
Ultimately, Amos has no regrets about his time on the programme, but if Traitors bosses are reading this then there’s one thing he would like to see changed going forward.
“I think we should debrief together and be like ‘it’s just a game’,” he says. “I think there should have been a point where we all sat in a room together and we’re like, ‘listen the game’s over’, because there was no endpoint of the game.
“I would suggest that there needs to be a debrief session because it is very traumatic and people need to be able to air their grievances, their fears, and and some of their the proper concerns.”