Steven McIntoshand
Lola Schroer
BBC- Spoiler warning: This article names the secret traitor and contains details of the new series of The Traitors.
The identity of the “secret traitor” has been revealed on the latest episode of The Traitors, with Fiona joining Stephen and Rachel in the castle turret.
The secret traitor, who wore a red cloak, had been operating in plain sight since being selected by presenter Claudia Winkleman in the opening episode of the BBC One series.
She had been given certain powers, such as compiling the shortlist of players the other three traitors were allowed to murder and her uncloaking follows last week’s banishment of the first traitor, when Hugo was voted out at the round table.
Wednesday’s episode also saw psychologist Ellie reveal she was Ross’s girlfriend, as he became the third player to be banished.
Ellie has yet to reveal the relationship to her fellow contestants and told the camera: “What I’ve got to do now is avenge his death.”
The secret traitor reveal happened at the start of the episode as Fiona lifted the hood of her red cloak before turning to Stephen and Rachel, saying: “I was wonderful, wasn’t I?”
Fiona’s co-conspirators agreed that she’d done a “wonderful” job at deceiving the other players as she revealed her identity in the turret.
“Hollywood is beckoning. I can feel it,” she said.
For the first time since the show’s launch in 2022, viewers were kept in the dark about the identity of a secret fourth traitor as part or a newly introduced twist.
The anonymity allowed viewers at home to play along for the first time, to see if they would fare any better than the faithful at spotting a traitor.
In a series of flashbacks from last week’s episodes, Winkleman was seen appointing Fiona, with the contestant responding: “I will do my best to be as treacherous as possible”, adding she was “drunk on power”.
The 62-year-old local government officer was overjoyed to finally meet her fellow traitors four episodes in.
“If the devil could have cast his net, he couldn’t have picked a better three,” she said.
But it could be difficult for the new traitor to bond with the two, and make their own position more vulnerable.
Rachel has already admitted she is “nervous” that Fiona could “ruffle a few feathers” – especially as she voted out traitor Hugo on Friday’s episode.
“He had to go. I have basically done your job for you these last few nights,” Fiona said to a shocked Rachel.
At the end of Friday’s episode, the traitors had been given the opportunity to unmask the secret traitor if they completed a clandestine task.
Rachel and Stephen had to put a blood-coloured fingerprint on the faces of nine contestants on a group portrait, shortlisting them for murder, without being detected by their fellow players.
After Rachel successfully completed the task, it was confirmed the secret traitor’s identity would be revealed in the next episode.
Prior to Wednesday’s uncloaking, Stephen and Rachel had made a pact that they would not write each other’s names down at the round table during future banishments.
After it was teased on Friday that the secret traitor would be uncloaked in the next episode, some fans expressed surprise that their identity was being revealed so early in the series.
Producers had not previously confirmed how long the secret traitor would remain unknown.
However, some viewers have speculated on social media that Hugo’s surprise banishment might have prompted the the secret traitor’s identity to be revealed earlier than expected.
The existence of the secret traitor had not gone down well with the three other traitors, with Hugo memorably commenting that he “does not require middle management”.
As the only player who knew every other contestant’s true status, the secret traitor changed the dynamic of the game and left the other traitors with less control.
The launch episode The Traitors was watched by an average audience of 6.4 million on New Year’s Day, according to overnight figures, with 5.8 million watching each of the following two episodes.
However, those figures are almost certain to climb when viewers who have since caught up on services such as iPlayer are added.
A celebrity spin-off featuring Alan Carr and Sir Stephen Fry was a huge success last autumn, attracting more than 15 million viewers.
