THE TRAITORS is back with a brand new line up of contestants fighting to win a life-changing cash prize.
Claudia Winkleman returns with a brand new series of The Traitors on New Years Day at 8pm on BBC One.
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Viewers will see Claudia greet a group of strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.
But hidden amongst them are the Traitors, whose job is to secretly murder their fellow players, without getting caught.
It’s up to the others, the Faithful, to try to detect who the Traitors are, and banish them from the game, before they become their next victim.
For the lucky ones who survive to the end, they have the chance of winning that life-changing cash.
But if a Traitor remains undetected, they’ll take it all.
So, let’s meet this year’s players…
Alex
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Alex is a 29-year-old care manager from Whitby.
He said a lot of people in his life have overlooked and underestimated him and predicts he’ll be the underdog.
He said: “I observe a lot, I’m quite good at cataloguing things. I might
appear to be just having fun, but I am taking everything in.”
Alexander
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Alexander is a 38-year-old former British Diplomat from London.
He has lived around the world, working with everyone from victims of attacks or natural disasters, local tribes, schoolchildren, politicians and briefly royalty.
He plans to bring his diplomatic skills into the game, saying: “a diplomat is meant to win people over and be good at influencing and negotiating!”
Anna
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Anna is a 28-year-old swimming teacher from County Wicklow, Ireland.
She believes she is “pretty good a spotting a liar.”
If she wins the prize money, Anna hopes to open up her very own “sustainable fashion line that’s slightly more affordable for young women.”
Armani
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Armani is a 27-year-old financial investigator from London.
She is going in with a game plan she thought about for months, which involves “planting seeds” everywhere she goes.
She said: “Day to day and in my job, I try to see whether someone
has done something wrong, and I try to investigate it and discover what needs to be put right. I like to help people, I like to do things in a team, I’ve always been that way inclined.”
Charlotte
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Charlotte is a 33-year-old business director from London.
She admitted to having a “terrible poker face” and is looking most forward to doing the missions.
She also revealed: “I am not afraid to go against someone and vote for them just because they are a friend.”
Dan
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Dan is a 33-year-old bank risk manger from Liverpool.
He is confident he will be great at the missions, saying he’s quite physical, intelligent and loves “puzzles and problem solving.”
He also shared: “My ultimate game plan is to make sure I’ve got enough people in the game that have my best interests at heart, no matter what side of the fence they’re on.”
Elen
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Elen is a 24-year-old translator from Cardiff, Wales.
She expressed her admiration for fellow Welsh player Amanda, who was a Traitor in series one, saying: “She embraced her background and where she came from. A grandmother and a mother, just a very ordinary person from South Wales, and no one suspected her.”
She also confessed to being “very competitive, very strategic, I can be manipulative.”
Fozia
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Fozia is a 50-year-old community development manager from Birmingham.
She confessed to being very competitive and is in it to win it.
Her game plan is to “be strategic about it because you can’t trust anyone. I am going to be careful about what I share and don’t share. And normally I can smell a rat.”
Francesca
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Francesca is a 44-year-old interior designer from East Sussex.
The mum-of-four hopes to challenge herself and show her sons that “anything is possible.”
She explained: “I think sometimes people think I’m a ditzy blonde, and that I just make things look pretty. But what I do involves a lot of engineering and architecture. Sometimes people assume I’m one
thing but actually there are different layers, and I like to surprise people.”
Freddie
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Freddie is a 20-year-old politics student from Peterborough.
He used to be UK number one in the athletic sprint hurdles from the ages of 14 to 17 and admitted to being “very competitive with a driven mindset.”
He thinks his young age will make him good at the missions, but hopes there is no “roller coasters or jumping out of a plane.”
Jack
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Jack is a 24-year-old market trader and landscaper from Yorkshire.
He is also secretly trained as an actor! He explained: “I think I can kind of play it a little bit dumb, maybe act like the ditzy gardener and landscaper who secretly has his own agenda, and hopefully a couple of acting skills to back that up.”
Jack admitted that his mum told him to apply for the series thinking he will be really good on it.
Jake
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Jake is a 28-year-old project manager from Barrow-in-Furness.
He revealed: “I’ve always been into mysteries, even when I was younger in my Scooby Doo days, I’ve always liked the guess who’s the murderer game so this show is the perfect kind of game for me.”
Jake said he is not there to make friends and is prepared to do what it takes to win the game.
Joe
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Joe is a 37-year-old English teacher from Southampton.
He said: “Because I’m a teacher, my life is based around planning. I have to plan for every moment, every possible question, everything that could go wrong.
“So, I think I’m already going to be in that mode, and I think it will be helpful. I think I’ll be more tactical with things. I think I’ll read between the lines, I won’t listen to just what’s being said, I’ll think about what’s no being said.”
Kasim
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Kasim is a 33-year-old doctor from Cambridge.
He describes himself as a “happy go lucky, bubbly person” and hopes his job helps him pick up on “subtle cues.”
However, he warned his fellow players: “When I get competitive, a very different side of me comes out. I can be quite ruthless, cunning and tactical. Generally, if I’m playing things like board games, I will absolutely stab you in the back to get what I want.”
Keith
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Keith is a 66-year-old window cleaner from Bournemouth.
He revealed: “I’m one of nine in my family. I’ve got a very big family, lots of brothers and sisters who used to play tricks on each other, wind each other up, the works! So, with all that in mind,
that’s why I applied for The Traitors.”
Even though he’s in his mid 60s, Keith has a black belt in Taekwondo, and will be bringing his outfit to the Scotland.
Leanne
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Leanne is a 28-year-old veteran from Holywell, North Wales.
The mum of twins thinks she will excel in the missions, having been in the Army for 12 years.
But she revealed she is going to tell people that she is a nail technician, “because people are automatically going to assume anyone in the military is smart and strategic.”
Leon
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Leon is a 40-year-old retail store manager from the East Midlands.
He said: “I think I’m quite charismatic. I’m a Gemini, so I can be like a smiling assassin!”
“I want to be a Traitor, but I think the perfect experience in this game would probably be to be a Faithful and then be recruited and turned into a Traitor – because then you’re getting both sides.”
Linda
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Linda is a 70-year-old retired opera singer from Hertfordshire.
She thinks she will be a great traitor as she likes the idea of “fooling people” and can be “ruthless” when money is involved.
Linda isn’t let her age but her at a disadvantage as she believes she has “more experience and quite good at convincing people of things that aren’t true!”
Lisa
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Lisa is a 62-year-old Anglican Priest from Cornwall.
People have questioned how going on a programme like The Traitors, where deception and lying is part of the game, sits with being a priest.
Lisa shared: “It doesn’t exactly speak of the values that we uphold as a priest. But this is a game.”
Olivia (Livi)
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Olivia is a 26-year-old beautician and model from Horsham.
She really wants to be a Faithful, as she finds it really easy to get on with people and an easy talker.
Olivia said: “I’ve always sussed people out in my life and if somebody has lied to me, I’ve known straight away. I think I’m a good people reader.”
Maia
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Maia is a 25-year-old full-time mum from Essex.
It is her dream to be a traitor, but warned her fellow players that she will steal all the money, saying: “Normally I’m not selfish when it comes to these things, but when it comes to providing for my family, nothing will come between that.”
She added: “My game plan is to act dumb, but not too dumb. If you’re too dumb they’re wondering what’s the purpose of you being here!”
Minah
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Minah is a 29-year-old call center manager from Liverpool.
She revealed: “I’m naturally very competitive and because I always want to win, I’d do anything. But I also like to be honest with people and I think I’d struggle betraying people I’d become close to.”
Minah believes she’s great at spotting a liar and is “very rarely wrong about people.”
Nathan
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Nathan is a 39-year-old property consultant from London.
He hopes to bring chaos to the show, saying: I’ve got to be quite strategic, but I think I will be planting a lot of seeds and spreading a bit of gossip because I quite enjoy it.
“I just think it’s fun. I’d rather go out with a bang and be the guy that was planting seeds and just causing havoc.”
Tyler
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Tyler is a 29-year-old barber from Leicester.
He said: “I think my job sets me up well. Every day I’m gaining trust as I cut people’s hair. I feel like I can adapt to any situation. I can gain people’s trust quite easily.”
Tyler hopes to buy my own barbershop with the prize money.
Yin
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Yin is a 34-year-old doctor of communication from Berkshire.
After gaining a PhD from Oxford University, Yin said his speciality is in the art and science of persuasive communication.
He warns his fellow players, saying: “I’m always analysing, it’s not just words, it’s the tone, it’s body language, it’s also what’s not being said, what’s not being done and actions over time, how they match with the words. There’s all of this stuff around it that I notice that I don’t think a lot of people pay attention to.”
The Traitors airs Wednesday 1 January from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
