Hannah Fry has revealed that filming Celebrity Traitors brought an unexpected family discovery. The mathematician and presenter found out during the BBC series that she and fellow contestant Joanne McNally are connected through marriage.
Speaking in her exit interview, Hannah explained that their cousins are married to each other. She joked that this made her and Joanne "basically sisters". The revelation came after Hannah was banished during a tense round table, ending her time as a Traitor.
Family link and admiration for Joanne
Hannah told the BBC: "I really like Joanne. We actually discovered that we're cousins, by marriage. So her cousin is married to my cousin. We're basically sisters. I really loved her so much."
She went on to praise the comedian, saying: "That's the perfect description of that woman. She is phenomenal. She knows exactly who she is, and she is totally unapologetic about it. I cannot tell you how much I admire her. She's phenomenal."
Latest episode and Rob Kemp's murder
Her departure followed another dramatic exit in the latest episode. Ross Kemp, Romesh Ranganathan, Rob Beckett and Leigh-Anne Pinnock had been left facing an uncertain future after a cliffhanger involving a game of hide and seek.
The Traitors ultimately chose to murder Rob. His absence stunned the remaining contestants when they learnt of his departure the following morning. Attention then turned to the round table where Hannah failed to convince the group she was Faithful and was banished from the castle.
Winner predictions and Traitor reflections
Fellow Traitors Maya Jama and James Ancaster subsequently recruited 29-year-old content creator King Kenny to join them. Despite her own exit, Hannah singled out Maya as her predicted winner and warned one co-star to stay quiet.
She said: "I think Maya. Leigh-Anne needs to keep quiet about how good she is because I don't think people have necessarily noticed, but as soon as Maya notices that Leigh-Anne is that good, she's going to kill her. I'd also love Joanne to win. I'd love an all-girl final - Sharon Miranda, Joanne, Leigh-Anne and Maya, that's what I want."
Hannah had joined the Traitors after a night without a murder, which fuelled suspicion among the Faithfuls. Although she narrowly avoided banishment the previous week, she could not escape scrutiny at the latest vote. Reflecting on going head-to-head with Julie, Hannah said: "The conversation around the table was okay." She added: "I think one of the reasons why I didn't want to be a Traitor is because the only way your game ends is by being banished or winning, so I think that having people vote for you and having heat on you is part of the role of being a Traitor."
Hannah also explained why accepting the Traitors' seduction letter had been such a difficult decision. She had entered the programme hoping to remain Faithful and had prepared to play that role. She said: "I was genuinely torn as to whether to accept it or not. On the one hand, I came into this just so wanting to be Faithful, and I had this whole plan, had done all this work in advance of just really, really wanting to play the Faithful game and have authentic interactions with people."
However, she feared that rejecting the invitation and telling the group would put her position at risk, adding: "So I was tempted to turn it down and go in and tell everybody that I'd been seduced, or that they tried to seduce me and I turned it down, but I knew as soon as I did that that the heat would be on me anyway, and I'd almost certainly be murdered that night."
Celebrity Traitors continues tonight on BBC One at 8pm.
