Fiona was the fifth player banished at the round table and the second Traitor banished. She talks about her time on Traitors below...
Was the castle as you expected, and how did it feel walking in for the first time?
Oh, it was wonderful. We were all in the car together and I recall being driven down and pulling up outside and just looking at this iconic building. Knowing that you were now going to be a part of The Traitors, I was absolutely ecstatic. I can't begin to describe to you how elated and thrilled I was to be there.
What were your first impressions of your fellow players?
It's hard to build first impressions, because we were all on our very best behaviour. I was just looking to see if there was anybody there that I had an immediate connection with, which was everybody really! You find yourself trying to find out as much as you can about people and as quickly as you can.
How did it feel to find out that you were the show's first ever Secret Traitor, and what was it like having all that power?
Finding out I had the red cloak was something else. It was so magical. It's like waking up on Christmas morning and everything you've written on your Christmas list is there. It was wonderful. But also, I can remember when I took the oath and I had this cloak, just wanting to put it on straight away and let the killing begin. The power that came with it, the fact that the Traitors, the green cloaks, didn't know who I was, but I knew them, that immense power was quite intimidating. I also knew there was a threat with that too, as they were having an opportunity to build allegiances, whereas I was very much on my own, but I wasn't afraid of that. I'm used to making my own decisions anyway, rightly or wrongly.
You looked like you were enjoying it though, was that the case?
I loved every single minute of it. I’m not going to lie to you, there wasn't a moment in the castle playing this game where I wasn't on cloud nine.
How does it feel to be leaving the game now?
I wasn't delighted to be leaving, but I was really the master of my own downfall because I needed to confront Rachel just to be sure in my own mind that she was a team player and not playing singularly. The action I took was to get it all out in the open and I felt at the time it was my only chance as Rachel was such a formidable player and I didn’t think I’d have another opportunity to put her name to the group as a potential Traitor.
As part of that bang, we saw you turn on your fellow Traitor, Rachel, tell me more about your reasoning behind that?
It was quite simple, really. I suspected that when there was the end game, that I would be thrown under the bus, not by Stephen, I have to say, but by Rachel. Rachel is phenomenal but she started playing this game the minute she was selected. She was amazing, absolutely amazing. I've got so much respect for that woman. But I felt that when somebody mentioned Stephen, she didn’t challenge their decision, whereas on one occasion when Rachel's name had come up, I said, ‘No, I don't think it's Rachel’, and I'd said it as well with Stephen. So straight away I thought, she's a lone wolf here, and if she's going to get rid of somebody from the turret, it will be me.
It was quite intense in the turret towards the end. How was that?
I wasn't nervous going into the turret. I wanted to have a bit of a joke with Rachel, but Rachel was so intense when I went in, there was just this immense look of ‘right, you've had it now, Mrs!’ So the only thing I could do in the turret was to say, ‘Well, come on then, bring the game on!’ because there was only ever going to be two outcomes, and that was I was going to go, or she was going to go, and either way it was going to happen. So it was out of my hands, and I was quite happy to go along with the flow.
Would you have done anything differently during your time there?
No, I had an absolute ball. Yes, it would have been lovely to have won, but it wasn't going to happen. I wasn't fetching money to the table. That's why Ben had to go, because he wasn't fetching money to the table.
What will you take away from being a player on the Traitors?
First of all, there are 21 people that I've connected with, and I consider to be the most wonderful people that I would never have had the opportunity to meet. We've got a very active WhatsApp group, and we all know we’ll be there for one another, each and every one of us. So that's one of the best things for me to have had the opportunity to connect with these amazing people.
Do you have a standout highlight from your experience?
Well, it's got to be the Secret Traitor. I mean, I'm a woman of a certain age now. I don't wear TENA pads, but that night, I thought I need a TENA! I was just so excited. It has been just brilliant being on this programme, and I'd love for more people to do it.
Do you hope that your fellow Traitors go on to take the win?
I sincerely hope they do, but there are also other formidable players there that I'm not prepared to write off. I think Matt is formidable, he’s very clever! And who couldn't love James? He’s a 100 mile an hour and the first time we met, he was just throwing everybody's name around and caused so much confusion, it was hilarious. But yeah, I would love for Stephen and Rachel to be a part of the final.
What has the reaction been like back in Wales?
I've gone global in Swansea, my boss told me. The reaction has been brilliant. I was up watching Swansea City Football team play Millwall. I'm now an official, YJB which means ‘You Jack Bastard’, and that's a very endearing term if you’re a football fan. So yes, it's been great. It's just lovely when you see children's faces and they recognise you, because this is proper family entertainment. There's nothing smutty, and no naughtiness, except for the murdering!
Did your family and friends suspect that you were the Secret Traitor?
Yes, but my lips were sealed.
Interview/picture supplied by BBC
