The former rugby union star, 35, has won over a whole new audience beyond sport thanks to his bromance with comedian Joe Wilkinson, his super-sleuthing, balletic bridge balancing and all-round wit.
Speaking about his faithful nemesis on Traitors Uncloaked, traitor Jonathan Ross said of Marler: “I think this show will do him a lot of good because people will see just how funny he is and how smart he is and how likeable he is.
“And that was always there, but it was hidden behind that gruff man mountain exterior.”
Along with Wilkinson, Marler was the architect of the epic Big Dog theory involving Ross and Fry.
And rather than fly under the radar, Marler took the risk of spouting his theories openly, and was arguably the most bullish at the roundtables, even managing to ruffle Carr’s feathers.
“Joe Marler has undoubtedly become a breakout star of the show due to his authentic personality and deadpan humour,” says entertainment reporter Indigo Stafford.
“He also seems to be one of the only faithfuls this season to actually have had a clue who the traitors might be, yet he cleverly managed to conceal how much of a threat he is to them in order to not get eliminated [until the very end].
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a huge career boost for him after he left the show.”
Marler signed up with talent agency M+C Saatchi earlier this year, and there are already rumours that he is set for more mainstream TV opportunities, which Stafford says would “make sense”.
“Having retired from his impressive England rugby career, he will be looking to move on to the next big thing – the world of showbiz,” she said.
Meanwhile TV reporter Siobhan Synnot thinks Marler could be heading for next year’s Strictly. We can see him doing the Viennese Waltz already.
