My text message contained just two simple words: ‘Fiona! Ha!’. The reply from my sixteen-year-old son arrived instantly, and his displeasure was immediately apparent. ‘I’m studying. I was saving it,’ he fired back, referring to the latest episode of The Traitors. I attempted to bluff my way out of the accidental spoiler, but the damage was already done. I had inadvertently revealed that Fiona, a 62-year-old local government officer from Wales, had been banished from Ardross Castle. I had broken our unspoken code, utterly ruining episode six of the hit BBC series for him.
The Fallout from a Spoiler
The situation was serious. My son made his feelings abundantly clear in the most indelicate terms. Once the initial frustration subsided, we began to dissect the dramatic events of the show. What was Fiona thinking, we pondered. How could she have been so strategically foolish, orchestrating her own banishment by playing her cards far too early? We analysed the situation with a gravity that far exceeded what a television show typically warrants.
From Reality TV Skeptic to Devoted Fan
This Friday marks the conclusion of Series Four of The Traitors, and I am already craving more. Previously, I found so-called ‘reality’ television completely unwatchable. When Channel 4 launched Big Brother in the UK in 2000 amidst a media frenzy, I lasted only a fraction of an episode before deciding it was decidedly not for me. The desperation of fame-hungry participants unsettled me, and the manufactured humiliation by producers felt utterly depressing. For years, this entire genre passed me by. I had no interest in the antics on Love Island, the bizarre culinary challenges on I’m A Celebrity, or the psycho-dramas of the Real Housewives franchises. The cringe-worthy X Factor auditions evoked sadness and anger. I experience enough personal embarrassment without scheduling time to feel it vicariously for strangers.
Consequently, when the BBC launched The Traitors in November 2022, it was just another show for me to ignore. Dear reader, things took a most unexpected turn. When BBC One announced the first series of The Celebrity Traitors last October, I decided to tune in. The presence of two of my favourite comedians – Joe Wilkinson and Nick Mohammed – in the line-up was enough for my curiosity to overcome my deep-seated antipathy. Just as I had quickly written off Big Brother, it took barely any time at all to confirm myself as a devoted fan of what is now competing with Strictly Come Dancing to be the BBC’s flagship entertainment show.
The Allure of Celebrity and Shared Experience
I was completely gripped by the über-camp drama of The Celebrity Traitors. Undoubtedly, the established status of the contestants helped me overcome my disdain for the reality format. These individuals – including Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, and Celia Imrie – possessed their own power and agency. They were not desperate hopefuls queuing for a chance at fame; they were in on the joke. By the time comedian Alan Carr, playing a traitor, was crowned victor of that series, I was fully committed.
My fandom is not solely due to the brilliant format, the high production values, or the gloriously deadpan presenting skills of Claudia Winkleman. Crucially, watching the show has become a significant shared experience for me and my son, a just-turned 16-year-old who typically spends his time at my house in his bedroom, playing FIFA online with his friends. If he is at his mother’s during a broadcast, we watch together while apart, messaging throughout the episode. Since the Fiona spoiler incident, I have wisely let him take the lead on discussing any major developments.
The Traitors Defies Modern Viewing Habits
In recent years, traditional television scheduling has taken a severe pasting from on-demand streaming services. The days when Saturday night shows routinely attracted audiences in the millions are long gone. Now, we consume content at our own convenience, binge-watching entire series in a day or catching up on missed episodes via our phones during the commute. The Traitors defiantly ignores this new reality. To keep up, your only option is to watch each new episode as it airs, along with everyone else. Miss one, and you must avoid social media, where every twist and turn is endlessly dissected.
This strict adherence to traditional scheduling has proven a masterstroke. Viewing figures have nudged an impressive 10 million at a time when some nationally-broadcast shows struggle to attract audiences in the mere hundreds of thousands.
Simple Format, Compelling Drama
The format of The Traitors is elegantly simple. Twenty-two contestants are dispatched to the imposing Ardross Castle, located 30 miles north of Inverness. Among them, three are secretly appointed as ‘traitors’, while the rest remain ‘faithfuls’. Over a dozen episodes, the faithfuls must deduce the traitors' identities and banish them. Meanwhile, for as long as they remain undetected, the traitors carry out nightly ‘murders’, eliminating faithfuls from the game.
Each day, competitors take part in team challenges, winning thousands of pounds to add to a collective prize fund. The stakes are ultimate: if all traitors are eliminated by the end, the remaining faithfuls share the money. If even one traitor remains undetected, they take the entire prize pot for themselves.
The show is a great leveller. No academic qualification or real-world experience grants a participant any inherent advantage. To succeed, a player needs sharp observational skills and a considerable amount of luck. We devotees have watched over recent weeks as former police officers and faithfuls, 57-year-old Amanda and 59-year-old Maz, failed to detect the traitors who orchestrated their demises. We smirked as 51-year-old traitor Hugo, a likeable if comically pompous barrister, was betrayed by one of his fellow assassins. We cheered when 53-year-old crime writer Harriet correctly identified a traitor, only to boo as other faithfuls remained unconvinced, leading to her unjust banishment.
Rooting for the Baddies
As this series races towards its conclusion, my son and I find ourselves united in rooting for the villains. He is backing Rachel, a 42-year-old communications director from Newry in Northern Ireland, while I am supporting her fellow traitor, Stephen, a 32-year-old cybersecurity consultant from the Western Isles. With just three episodes remaining, the tension is palpable as we await the final revelation of who will prevail and who will fall short.
I will genuinely miss The Traitors when this series ends on Friday. It is a reality show with a heart, a genuine television phenomenon that fosters connection and brings families together. It is high-stakes psychological drama wrapped in a comforting, communal hug. It took me a long while to arrive here, but I am now – and always will be – a faithful.
