The winner of BBC's The Traitors, Lance Corporal Harry Clark, has lifted the lid on his plans to leave the British Army and how his military training helped him win the life-changing £95,000 prize.
Speaking to Forces News and BFBS, the REME aircraft technician attached to 47 Regiment Royal Artillery revealed he was already thinking of leaving the Armed Forces before he took part in the popular psychological reality show.
LCpl Clark, 23, credited the British Army for its unwavering support and for making him who he is today, saying: "When it comes to the military, obviously, all respect to the military, it made me the man I am today."
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He added: "And it's been amazing, obviously, in helping me with winning the game, let's be honest."
From soldier to traitor and now reality star?
However, describing himself as a "hopeless romantic", LCpl Clark is keen to forge a new career path in reality TV so he can spend more time with his girlfriend and family after six years of service.
LCpl Clark said he never wanted a long career in the Army, as he knew he would find being deployed and spending months away from the ones he loves incredibly challenging.
The British Army has been helping the soldier manage his newfound fame since appearing on The Traitors by giving him time away from his day job to do interviews, and LCpl Clark hopes he might be released early so he can transition to civvy street as soon as possible.
He said: "They've been such a key help and allowed me to go to these interviews and allow me to do this today, you know?
"So it's all thanks to them. But at the same time, yeah, I just want to keep doing more reality TV, because why not?"
As a child, LCpl Clark was an active boxer at his family's boxing club which was run by his grandad, who served in the Parachute Regiment.
His adoration of his grandfather was what inspired him to join the military, saying: "My granddad has always been my idol.
"I just look at him and I see like a gentleman who's nice to everyone who just loves his family.
"And obviously he's talked to me about his military career and stuff and I was like 'I just want to be like you'.
"And that was one of the main reasons I joined."
When he joined the military, LCpl Clark quickly drew on his experience in his family's boxing ring to establish himself in the Army boxing circle.
He was also selected to play football for the Army's under 23s team.
How does his success on The Traitors compare to his sporting prowess?
When asked how his career in the Army and competing in forces sports compares to winning The Traitors, LCpl Clark replied: "Winning The Traitors to lifting a trophy in football or winning the RA Champs Boxing... it's completely different feelings, but it's the same feeling at the same time.
"You have that feeling of success, but also relief [that] all of the hard work that you've put in has worked.
"Being a Traitor from the start, the whole way through was like a game plan and it's similar to when you're training for boxing or you're training for football.
"The build-up is better than the prize, if that makes sense, that you get the relief."
LCpl Clark's calculated performance on The Traitors leaves fellow soldiers bemused
LCpl Clark's colleagues were shocked to see his cool, calm and calculated performance on The Traitors.
Especially when the soldier helped banish Army veteran Jonny Holloway, as his persona at work is completely different to the Traitor he portrayed on the small screen.
He said: "They all know me as the sort of Clarkey who's just there for a laugh and always saying stupid stuff like 'do you believe in aliens', mad stuff like that.
"I think they were just starstruck as in like they didn't realise I could do it either and like, watching it back, I don't think they trust me anymore – especially after what I did to Jonny."
"I wish I could have recruited him as a traitor"
The soldier expressed the guilt he felt for helping banish Army veteran Jonny Holloway at the round table, despite knowing he was a Faithful.
The nation's favourite Traitor revealed how he desperately wished he could have brought Jonny on-side, saying: "I wish I could have recruited him as a Traitor to be honest, that would have been the best thing ever.
"His job was completely different to mine, his experience was completely different to mine, but we just had that connection straight away so... he bought me that sense of home."
There is no bad blood between the pair as they have since discussed their shared experience.
Jonny said that if he had been in LCpl Clark's position, he would have made the same decision to banish him from the game.
What positives did LCpl Clark take away from The Traitors?
LCpl Clark credits his military training for giving him the mental and physical resilience to make it through to the final and eventually win, but what skills did he bring back to the Army from his time on The Traitors?
The soldier believes his time on the BBC series has made him a better person, eager to clarify that he is no longer a liar - something he had become quite good at during his time on the show.
He said: "The experience changed me again as a person because you learn so much about yourself.
"You learn your weaknesses and you learn your strengths.
"It's so mentally taxing that I feel like I came out and I went back to work a better person."
LCpl Clark hopes his appearance on The Traitors has proven that those with military training are capable of doing anything they put their mind to, saying: "With military training, you can do anything because this is so random.
"I've gone through the military machine and it's made me into this man.
"You can sort of just do anything and I hope people can see that and just sort of want to do whatever they want in life and they just go for it."
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