The hit BBC game show The Traitors is the perfect mix of strategy and emotion, with twists and turns that will keep every player on their toes.

But when you’re autistic, it’s easy to think rigidly – and for exiled loyal Dan, that was “one of his biggest disadvantages”.

“As soon as I had an idea in my head, I just implemented it,” he says metro. “And in some ways that’s a huge strength in life because in my experience, my autism means that I’m incredibly determined and focused on our ultimate goal and don’t really let anything distract me.”

“But in a game like this you have to be more flexible, and there were certain times when I was suspicious of people and just wouldn’t let up and didn’t want to see alternative points of view.”

He says being in the iconic Scottish castle was a “very isolated” experience for him, as he decided it was “fair game” to look at everything from a gaming and strategic perspective.

“So I never really took anything personally,” Dan reveals. “And my mistake was expecting other people to feel the same way, but I think there were definitely times in the game where my empathy came through.”

“I was really vocal in my defense of Kas because I was behind him from the beginning – both from an Alliance and a Faithful perspective – and I wanted to be there for him.”

“Autistic people don’t lack empathy, but I just went into the game because I knew it was a game and I just didn’t want to be too emotional myself.”

And when emotions ran high in overwhelming conversations and other discussions, Dan was able to take breaks. He praises the “really, really nice team” behind the show, who gave him “the space I needed to process things in peace for a while.”

“I mean, from a gameplay perspective, I didn’t find it too difficult (to maintain my social battery),” Dan says. “So having strategy conversations with people or being competitive in the missions or the conversation sessions never really bothered me. “All the other time spent with people was quite difficult for me, and developing social bonds, which is also a really important part of the game.

“So I took some breaks,” he continues. “Whether I sat outside in the area under the pagoda, alone, and just to completely recalibrate myself because I’m not used to being around people all the time, and I couldn’t do that in the game; I had to get myself involved.’

A difficulty arose, Dan explains, because alliances are essential to getting far in the game.

“I think alliances are definitely the most important thing,” he says.

“Especially at the beginning of the game, but then as the game progresses you kind of start to get distorted.” You think, “Okay, I’m doing a great job of being protected by my allies.” For the first five round tables, I have didn’t get a single vote, and that’s because people protected me.

“But then you start wondering what you’re doing in the game, and I thought, ‘Well, my assessment of who the traitors are is really off,’ and then you think, ‘Oh, I should turn around and focus on the people. “I really believe at this point that they are the traitors.”

“To be honest, it’s a really difficult balancing act and I don’t think I’ve managed that transition in any way.”

In a game as treacherous and tricky as The Traitors, the many balancing acts required of players are immense – from maintaining alliances and hunting down traitors to convincing you of your suspicions, but also from open-mindedness and finally to the balance between rational thinking and logic with an emotional side.

Dan knows he’s definitely taken the lead with the former. “I think this is particularly evident in the last mission I was involved in.” From a logical perspective, I succeeded in the mission exactly how I wanted, but I have the emotional reaction that other players would have afterwards, not taken into account.

“I just didn’t consider the consequences because I really didn’t think it would cause such a strong emotional reaction.”

It turns out that this mission sealed Dan’s fate, resulting in him being banished after he held back from telling Frankie that he was “marking” her as someone who shouldn’t get a shield because of what he assumed that he would be the last person to suspect her.

Such an impersonal approach to the game had other downsides as well, as Dan soon went viral for rolling his eyes in frustration with his English teacher and fellow believer, Joe, in the room as the two disagreed on how to approach the game.

“I don’t know what it was in the castle,” Dan says. “We just clashed. I think we both have pretty strong, stubborn personalities and our game plans just never really worked out.

“And that’s okay; “You know, you’re not going to get along perfectly with everyone in the castle, but Joe and I are absolutely fine – we’re all fine.”

So much so that when asked about a teammate who is particularly understanding of his autism, he finds it difficult to pick a single name, citing Minah, Frankie and Kas as just three examples.

“For most of my time playing, it was pretty refreshing because I think I was accepted by the cast,” Dan reveals. “I told a lot of them about my autism pretty early on in the game, so I think they could understand that I processed the game differently, but I think everyone’s patience has its limits.”

“When we got to this final challenge, I obviously behaved selfishly and decided to do what was in my best interest. I think people rightly questioned that and were able to make their own decision about whether they wanted me to stay in the game or not, but I felt like I was able to be myself in the game to be, and I “I haven’t always felt this way in other experiences in my life.”

The Traitors continues on Wednesday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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