Simone Reddington

Last night saw the return of The Traitors on BBC One.  If you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years and have not watched an episode of what is arguably the most interesting reality television concept of the last ten years, The Traitors is essentially a game of twenty-two adults staying in a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands playing a game of wink murder with Claudia Winkleman.  Three players are chosen to be the Traitors and must keep their identities secret as they ‘murder’ a Faithful every night, and the next day, all players must vote to ‘banish’ whomever they suspect to be a guilty culprit.  There are several international formats available to watch on the BBC iPlayer but the British version is the best. 

The third season kicked off with a shock twist as twenty-five contestants were introduced at the beginning of the episode, but they had to choose to eliminate three players before they had the chance to reach the castle.  This prompted three people to act as sacrificial lambs and waste their opportunity to appear on prime-time television for the sake of a bunch of other people who they had never met before.  However, I suspect that will not be the last we see of Alexander, Fozia and Jack in the game. 

In past seasons of the show, one of the strategies that contestants often use is to disguise aspects of their identities that may be seen as a threat.  For example, they might enter the game with their partners or family members and not tell anyone they know each other; or not reveal their career if it could potentially be seen as a threat.  A classic case of this in this year’s opening episode was when Leanne chose not to tell anybody that she has served in the army and instead introduced herself to the other players as a nail technician and wore a bright pink trouser suit in the hope she would appear as a ditzy blonde and wouldn’t be considered a threat.  I can sort of understand the logic there, but not in the case of Charlotte, who is from London but has decided to put on a Welsh accent for the entirety of her stay in the castle in the hope that it would make her appear more friendly and trustworthy! 

The three players whom Claudia selected to be Traitors at the beginning of the game were all women this year.  Minah, a Scouse call-centre manager, is the strongest of the trio in my opinion and I think she will get to the final.  However, the other Traitors are not doing so well as Linda- a retired opera singer- has already slipped up and just escaped the first banishment by the slip of her teeth, Armani- a financial investigator who arrived at the castle with her younger sister- is playing a very dangerous game by being very vocal in group discussions so early in the game.  However, all three of them have survived the first two round table banishments with two innocent Faithfuls having been sent home already.   

With a diverse and likeable cast, the third series of The Traitors is off to a very promising start, and it looks as though it’s going to be just as dramatic and exciting as the previous two seasons.  The secret to the show’s success is that the producers seem choose the most normal people from all walks of life, rather than polished social media influencers that normally appear on reality television.  It’s all just a bit of fun, which is exactly what we need in January.

(Image source: bbc.com, 2025)