Spoiler warning: This contains juicy details of series four of The Traitors UK
This season of The Traitors has delivered some of the most explosive moments in the show’s history, marked by dramatic twists, compelling performances, and strategic deception.
Following the gripping conclusion of series four on Friday, we revisit some of the most unforgettable highlights from this year.
The series began with a significant twist: the introduction of a red cloak alongside the traitors’ traditional green attire. The red cloak was worn by a secret traitor, whose identity was initially concealed from both the viewers and the other traitors.
Producers aimed to immerse viewers in the faithfuls’ perspective, challenging them to identify a traitor. The audience, however, remained largely as perplexed as the faithfuls themselves.
The secret traitor’s identity was unveiled after just four episodes. Following traitor Hugo’s banishment, the secret traitor assumed his position, revealing Fiona beneath the red hood.
Ultimately, the ruse felt somewhat anticlimactic, but it did inject additional intrigue into the series’ early stages.
Fiona confessed to being “drunk on power,” and her unmasking set off a chain reaction of chaos.
Fiona – seemingly sweet, bubbly, and harmless – emerged as one of the show’s most prominent instigators of disruption. Shortly after joining her fellow traitors, she declared war on one of them.
When Rachel disclosed to the group that banished faithful Amanda had confided in her about her past as a detective, Fiona took offense, accused Rachel of dishonesty, and attempted to expose her as a traitor.
The traitors’ subsequent meeting was notably awkward, with Rachel and Fiona exchanging heated glares while Stephen observed, stunned.
“Are we going to discuss?” he cautiously inquired.
“I didn’t start it,” Rachel retorted, visibly agitated.
Fiona’s high-stakes strategy backfired, and the cast ultimately sided with Rachel.
After her banishment, Fiona admitted that she no longer believed Rachel had been lying about Amanda, and she referred to herself as a “plonker.”
Harriet spoke candidly when she had the opportunity to address the traitors directly, who were concealed in the church confessional.
“If my voice is shaking, it is not through nerves, but through anger that you have taken me for such a fool,” she stated.
“I think we all know that the gig is up for Rachel,” she continued, revealing that she had identified one of the traitors.
“I bet you wish you’d killed me when you had the chance,” the former barrister said before turning on her heel, one of her trademark scarves draped over her shoulder.
“She’s scaring the life out of me,” Rachel whispered in the confessional booth.
The following morning, Harriet dominated the breakfast room with similar theatrics.
“I was not going to allow a day of any further machinating and web-weaving around me because I’ve had enough,” she declared, before telling Rachel in front of everyone: “I’m onto you.”
“Where has this come from?” Rachel asked innocently.
“The benefit is to set the cat among the pigeons,” Harriet concluded emphatically, leaving the other diners speechless.
However, as with Fiona, the faithfuls perhaps felt the theatrics were excessive, sided with Rachel, and banished Harriet.
While celebrity traitor Alan Carr’s giggling may have seemed like a potential giveaway, Stephen’s struggles to maintain a poker face have been even more entertaining.
Fans have delighted in his expressive reactions, with his wide eyes, blushing cheeks, and gaping jaw regularly stealing the show. Memes have proliferated across social media in tribute.
Stephen reacted dramatically when a ghoulish hand emerged from a grave during one of the missions, much to Claudia’s amusement. When Roxy directly asked him if he was a traitor, his awkward laugh (followed by: “All I can say is I’m not a traitor”) echoed Carr’s nervous bluffs in The Celebrity Traitors.
Stephen’s reactions may not have aroused suspicion, but Hugo’s did.
At the start of episode three, the contestants discovered that Ben had been murdered.
In a desperate attempt to conceal his involvement, traitor Hugo overacted during breakfast, calling for the group’s attention and requesting that the others “take a moment” for “that senior gentleman.”
With a disgusted shake of his head, he added: “Whoever has done that is beyond mean.”
The faithfuls felt that Hugo was protesting too much and voted him out at the next opportunity, marking the barrister as their first traitor scalp.
There were multiple secret connections between the contestants this time.
Roxy told viewers (but not the rest of the cast) in the first episode: “Judy seems lovely, but I’m bound to say that… considering she’s my mum.”
She inadvertently revealed the relationship when she shouted “stop, Mum!” while the group was frantically paddling a canoe during the first mission, but no one noticed.
Meanwhile, Ross seemingly introduced himself to Ellie on the train en route to the castle, asking her: “I live and work in London, what about yourself?” They both appeared astonished by the coincidence when she replied: “Yeah, I also live in London!”
However, upon being banished in episode nine, Ellie revealed to her fellow contestants that she and Ross were in a relationship, shocking everyone.
“No game chat, just Ellie and Ross chat! Gossip! Ooh!” James exclaimed gleefully as the surviving players settled in for the dinner party that followed.
Those weren’t the only connections. It turned out that Ross and Netty also knew each other through a mutual friend but hadn’t seen each other for 10 years – though that link wasn’t orchestrated by producers.
While the traitors typically murder at night, they occasionally have the option to recruit.
During one episode, hitherto faithful Northern Irishman Matt was given the chance to speak with traitors Stephen and Rachel, who were hidden in a confession booth.
But instead of attempting to identify the traitors, Matt surprised viewers by laying his cards on the table.
“I’m taking a massive risk here,” he told them through a wall. “I want to know that there is some trust.”
Attempting to make a deal with the devil, Matt implored the traitors to murder his fellow faithful, Jessie, and then recruit him to the dark side.
“So my question is, do we have a deal?”
Rachel and Stephen agreed but, ultimately, never recruited another traitor…
There was a twist on the concept of murdering in plain sight when the traitors were tasked with compiling a nine-person shortlist for murder by placing red-ink fingerprints next to cast members’ photos on a “family tree.”
Rachel and Stephen huddled around the illustration in the castle foyer with faithful Reece, feigning an attempt to translate its Latin inscription, before the two traitors asked Reece to leave.
Remarkably, this did not arouse Reece’s suspicion, even when the group later discovered the “bloody” fingerprints on the picture.
Jessie saying “night night” and saluting an empty suit of armor on her way out of the castle one evening perhaps exemplified her endearing eccentricity.
She was also one of the most perceptive faithfuls, consistently and correctly identifying Stephen’s trail, only to be largely disregarded by the others.
She posed a significant enough threat for Stephen to metaphorically pull the trigger, yet she was underestimated enough that her murder did not implicate him.
Could this be the most indecisive group of faithfuls in Traitors history? Failing to reach a consensus at one round table is unfortunate, but reaching a deadlock twice could be considered egregious.
The first time the chests of chance were used to resolve a banishment vote was back in episode five, when contestants were unable to decide whether to evict Reece or Amanda. Lady Luck determined that Amanda’s time was up.
The second impasse occurred at a far more critical juncture. With just one episode remaining, Rachel was finally in the firing line, alongside James, despite strenuous efforts that led him to collapse and vomit during that day’s mission.
Viewers were left uncertain as to which of the two had selected the chest containing the shield that would allow them to remain in the game.
Ultimately, fortune favored Rachel, while James was eliminated.
Claudia described Rachel and Stephen as “totally faithful to each other” and “like Bonnie and Clyde” when discussing their win on Uncloaked.
Nothing solidified their bond more than the closing shot of the finale, when the winning pair exclaimed “we are the traitors” after securing the prize together.
They collaborated until the end, plotting to eliminate Jade, Faraaz, and then Jack to secure the victory as a pair in the endgame.
Their commitment to each other was one of the most heartwarming aspects of the show, and despite witnessing their plotting, banishing, and murdering over the past three weeks, their unwavering promise to never write each other’s names on their tablets at the round table or betray each other was commendable.
They become the first winners of the UK version of the show to win as a pair of traitors, which is even more impressive considering they were chosen as traitors on day one.
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