THE Scottish winner of hit BBC show The Traitors has spoken out over facing discrimination on an “everyday basis” due to a condition affecting her height, adding that she "wants to see more people like me on TV" to educate the public.
Edinburgh-based Meryl Williams has achondroplasia, meaning her torso is average size but her legs and arms are shorter, resulting in her being 4ft 2in.
She says she took part in the gameshow which concluded last week because she was sick of only seeing people with her condition in pantos, according to the Scottish Daily Express.
She said: "When I would the show I was in complete and utter shock, and I never expected this outcome.
“People went into the show with a game strategy, but I thought you couldn’t predict what we were going to face on Traitors, so I just went in as myself.
“I wanted to be the same person on the show and in the castle as I am on the outside. When I got to the final there were only five contestants left and I kept telling myself ‘Just keep going, just keep going’.
“I never wanted to get ahead of myself, so I never said to myself I could win during the games. It was never about the money for me, it was just about the experience.
“I hope it empowers people to never stop trying despite their disabilities and I want to be to educate people about my condition and show the world it doesn’t stop you from doing anything."
And Williams went on to win the show, which was filmed in the Highlands, sharing the cash prize with two other contestants (Aaron and Hannah, above with Meryl and host Claudia Winkleman).
Since then, the 26-year-old has spoken of how she was treated the same as her peers at school but that now she is often mocked in public.
She said: "Throughout school I was lucky and I was treated the same as everyone else, but in public I face discrimination on an everyday basis.
"There's not enough awareness of my condition. I think people often see some sort of hilarity in it because often dwarfs are in pantomimes and because of the oompa-loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
"A lot of people are taken aback – they point and laugh. I've had people film me and hysterically laugh when I'm doing a weekly shop.
"I feel on edge when I walk past a group of teenage boys, and don't leave the house on my own. People sometimes mistake me for a child and ask where my mum is."
Williams went on to say she gets "frustrated” as people “wouldn't treat people with other disabilities in this way”.
She continued: “I can't wake up one day and be 5ft 5in. It does get disheartening and if you're having a bad day it makes it ten times worse.
"I decided to enter Traitors to defy the odds and prove to the people that I can do everything they can. I want to see more people like me on TV.”
