As the hit BBC One and BBC iPlayer show The Traitors reaches its epic finale on Thursday 22nd December at 9pm the final five contestants talk about their journey on the show so far.
They’ve survived numerous murders and banishments, backstabbing and treachery, but for the players left in the game it all comes down to today in the finale of the hottest show on TV.
Who will be victorious? Will the Faithful be able to uncover who the Traitors are and share the money, or will a Traitor remain undetected and take the life changing prize for themselves?
Aaron
Age: 24
Job title: Property Agent
Location: Portsmouth
How do you feel to have made it this far in the competition?
I’m quite surprised because after episode three I didn’t think I was going to make it much longer. I also had another close call in episode seven so I’m surprised I’ve managed to make it this far.
What has been the best moment of the experience so far?
Probably meeting everybody at the beginning when we all went into the castle – the energy was really high, and everyone was getting along so well.
What were your expectations coming into the show?
Oh my God, I didn’t really know what to imagine! They didn’t give us the exact blueprint of how it was going to play out so I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think there would be as much drama as there was or be as chaotic, or for to be as many emotions as there were.
Did you think you would make it the final five in the competition?
No way! Are you joking? No, I did not think I’d make it through to the final five. I thought I’d go out after day three and that’s before I even knew what would happen in day three.
What would winning the show mean to you?
It would mean a lot to me, as well as my mum because I’ll be able to put a deposit down on a house for her.
What has been the funniest thing you’ve seen on social media about yourself?
I’d have to say, the number of Mums that have offered me hugs!
Hannah (pictured top)
Age: 32
Occupation: Comedian
Location: London
How do you feel to have made it this far in the competition?
Completely and utterly clueless I think and I’ve no idea how I got here! I think you spend so much time second guessing and game planning, trying to get a game plan together and then that all goes out the window and you’re just happy to be there another day! The next thing you know someone says you’re in the final and I’m wondering how on earth has this happened?! But I feel incredibly, incredibly happy, and very, very lucky.
What has been the best moment of the experience so far?
I think it was that I absolutely loved being told what to do! That’s very on brand for me. If I could have that all the time that would be brilliant. I loved making friendships with people you would never have ordinarily met. And the challenges were just insane!
What were your expectations coming into the show?
I thought I’d last about five minutes and then I’d get kicked off and I was quite happy with that to be honest. So, to be in this situation, it feels like I’m having a weird fever dream. Like I’m incredibly ill, at death’s door but I’m having this incredibly weird, deluded, fever dream!
What would winning the show mean to you?
It would mean I could concentrate solely on my career for the next year. Being a comedian has always been my dream and it would mean making that happen without having to worry about how often the money is coming in. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to start. It would just mean I could set myself up to really go for that.
What has been the funniest thing you’ve seen on social media about yourself?
Someone said I should be on 2:22 A Ghost Story which I was thrilled about. I would love to do that so if anybody is reading this that can make that happen, hit me up! I’ll go straight in after Cheryl.
Kieran
Age: 42
Occupation: Solutions Consultant
Location: Hertfordshire
How do you feel to have made it this far in the competition?
For me personally, it's nothing short of a miracle. From the first episode of me going within 10 minutes, to me coming back, it’s no short of a miracle. There's no luck involved it's a tactical game with all sorts of scenarios - the twists and turns are ridiculous. Everyone's journey is unique, but mine is particularly unique. So I'm very grateful, very happy to have survived that amount of time and be alive and in the final.
It was a massive shock to everyone when you left before you even stepped foot in the castle - how did that moment feel when Claudia told you and Amos that you were going home?
The first thing was that it was obviously shocking and with immediate effect. I knew the situation so first it was absolute disbelief and despair. And then I just took it really - I knew this game would have twists and turns. I was absolutely devastated and I just wanted to get home as quick as I physically could. And I was getting prepared to get stick left, right and centre for it! It was the most brutal twist in a game show ever and it set the tone of the show to perfection – it got everyone hooked from the first episode. But being on the end of it was hard.
And how did it feel when the producers told you, you're actually going to go back in?
So me and Amos went and sat down and when we go into the car we were there for about 15 minutes, and we were both sort of just broken men. I was just planning about getting home quickly and just sort of trying to deal with the aftermath to try and process it very quickly at that time.
Then when the two ladies got into the car and said to me how you feeling? We were like "How do you think we're feeling?" then they went "we're bringing you back". And then me and Amos, basically if anyone was filming the car, you'd have seen the car shaking from side to side where we were going crazy in the back of the car.
It was probably one of the best sentences I've heard in my life because it was from utter despair, to like euphoria again saying ‘Okay, that is brilliant. Brutal, but thank you’.
And what was it like filming the scene where you returned? How did it feel sitting in the gold mask?
Going back into the church and having that opportunity to sit there for the entire mission and watch the cast was a mixed bag of feelings – one was excitement. I don't know if you catch it, but when Claudia walked passed, she said to me "nice hat" she gives me a wink because obviously she knows who I was. It's a really clever little trick that she done, because she knew what bombshell was about to drop. It's literally TV genius. So, I couldn't react to that, I had to just keep obviously face forward. And luckily you can't see my face because I was smiling underneath the mask.
It was very interesting to watch how things had changed since we left. Relationships that had bonded. I actually picked up a bit chemistry between Alex and Tom, because we didn't know at that time, they were a couple.
What has been the best moment of the experience so far?
Obviously coming back was massive but orchestrating the plan to catch Amanda was epic for me. I had my suspicions about Wilf, but I had to keep him very close to me – keep your friends close, enemies closer, there was a method to my madness. And there is a final mission which I can’t give away which was incredible. It was like being in a James Bond scene.
What were your expectations coming into the show?
As I said at the very beginning, I've got no expectations. I said I was going to take it day by day I wasn't thinking about money. Obviously that's in the background, but I just knew, being a bit old and being around the block and just knowing I just, one, the experience, I wanted to just, I've never done anything like this before ever. It's never appealed to me any reality TV show but this just ticked all the boxes. For me, it was the experience.
Did you think you would make it into the final five of the competition?
I don't know to be honest. To get here is more than a miracle because there's so many twists and turns on this show that you simply cannot prepare for, you certainly can't plan for and things will happen that you just won't expect. Welcome to The Traitors!
What would winning the show mean to you?
It would be a great achievement. Obviously having my kids and getting married is right up there, that can never be rivalled but it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The money would help me – name me one person it wouldn't have helped in the show, everyone deserved an opportunity to win. But it would be something I would cherish for the rest of my life and look back on and show my kids.
Meryl
Age: 26
Occupation: Call Centre Agent
Living: Edinburgh
How do you feel to have made it this far in the competition?
Ecstatic. I never expected it in a million years. When I first went onto the show I just wanted to try and get through. I kept just thinking one more day, one more day. I never ever thought I was going to get this far, for sure. It feels surreal. It’s a very ‘pinch me’ moment.
What has been the best moment of the experience so far?
Just being in the castle and meeting everyone. I can’t even list one thing. It’s been everything. It’s been all the challenges, all the missions, it’s being with everyone, it’s being at breakfast, it’s being with Claudia! The whole overall experience has all been surreal.
What were your expectations coming into the show?
I just wanted to try my best. I wanted to be myself. That’s all I wanted, and I can happily say that I have been myself. I am exactly how you see me on camera. I just wanted to try my absolute best and do everything I could. I also went on the show because I wanted to change people’s perceptions and the stereotypes that come with my condition. I wanted people to see me and educate themselves a bit that I can do everything they can do.
Did you think you would make it the final five in the competition?
I didn’t think I’d get past day three! Even at the start I put myself as least likely to win. I was right at the end of the line before Amos and Kieran came and stood after me. I literally put myself as least likely to win. I certainly never thought I’d get this far. I never came in with a game plan or a strategy or thought of things to do or not to do. I came in, decided to just be myself, to be friends with everyone, to just have a good time and enjoy every experience, to do everything I can do and just see what happens.
What would winning the show mean to you?
Winning the show would actually be life changing. The money would be amazing. I’m thinking of changing my career and I’d love to do that so the money would give me the flexibility to explore that. I’d love to travel too. And talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience – winning a BBC One reality game show!
What has been the funniest thing you’ve seen on social media about yourself?
So many things! When I said to Wilf I’d got the shield there were so many funny memes and people asking why would Meryl do that?! I was like oh my god! And my friends watched it and said oh that is just so you, you don’t think before you speak! I was like I know! Also, with one of the missions I remember pictures of me being posted and people saying ‘I want to be as happy as Meryl with her wheelbarrow!’
Wilfred
Age: 28
Occupation: Senior Fundraiser
Location: North London
How do you feel to have made it this far in the competition?
It’s very surreal, I didn’t think I’d get this far at one point. When all the fingers were pointing at me, I never thought I’d make it this far. Also, it’s hard knowing that the people that I really care about and get on with, they are going to have to find out who I am. I am going to have to try and backstab them and we can’t end this is good spirits for all five of us. That’s the struggle for me. Knowing that I have to do them over at some point. It’s getting harder in that aspect, knowing that I’m going to have to turn on the people that I’ve kept in, because I’m really close to them. The castle is hard and the reason I’ve kept these people in is because they make me happy.
What has been the best moment of the experience so far?
The best thing so far is making friends, and genuine friends. The hours and hours that you have playing games and talking to each other and just having a laugh. Obviously, we talk a lot about the game play but there are hours of us just talking, getting to know each other, and making friends. I’m quite a sociable person, so being able to socialise all day and have fun.
The challenges as well, the challenges are amazing because it’s the only time no one really looks at anyone. It’s an opportunity to have some fun, do things that we’ve never done before. The laser challenge was one of my dreams, I’ve always wanted to do that, and I don’t know why.
What were your expectations coming into the show?
I thought it would be a lot easier. Going into the show, because of the work that I do where I try my hardest to switch off my emotions so I can get on with my job, I genuinely thought that I’d be able to detach emotions from game play and it’s just not the case. I really didn’t expect myself to be as emotional as what I have been, but you end up being sucked in this place of emotions and feelings. You spend so many hours with these people and you really get to know everything about them, I really didn’t think it would be as hard as it was to murder people, or watch people get banished knowing that you’re the one that should be banished.
Did you think you would make it the final five in the competition?
Yes and no. I went in there with a gameplan that I executed quite well and it’s got me to the final, but at the same time there’s times where people are looking at you and pointing fingers at you, but I’ve come to terms with getting through that as a Traitor and then the eyes were off me. When I went through that and I managed to save myself, after that moment I knew I’d be in the finals. I knew it from that one moment during the Alyssa episode, where people hugged me after, and I hardly had a vote after that. I went from loads of votes all the time to hardly any and I knew it from the next day. I thought ‘I’ve got this now.’
What would winning the show mean to you?
I have a vision and a dream of where I want to be in five- or ten-year’s time and that’s owning a gym and a safe space for young people to come to. I also want to do a counselling and psychology degree so that I’m able to counsel young people through sports. That for me was the main reason why I came on the show. I will always achieve that; I’ll always do it, it will just be a fast forward that makes it a lot easier for me to do that. Also, I’d be able to clear all our wedding debt, and we’re going through a financial struggle as a country so to be able to take a bit of pressure of me and my wife, which would really help.
What has been the funniest thing you’ve seen on social media about yourself?
Oh my god, there’s so many! One of the funniest is where someone has put Amanda’s head on a dragon and the dragon is burning me on the floor – that’s one of my favourites.
Interviews supplied by BBC
Pictures: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Paul Chappells
