Matthew Hyndman, the creative director captivating audiences on the latest series of BBC's The Traitors, is weaving a web of deception on screen. However, his off-camera life involves a powerful and dramatic personal journey of survival and activism.
A Plan for Recruitment and a Past of Persecution
In the hit show's current run, which began on New Year's Day 2026, the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland, now living in Edinburgh, stunned viewers. He meticulously hatched a plan to be recruited by the Traitors following the banishment of Secret Traitor Fiona Hughes. While fans champion his potential for undercover skulduggery, his real-world story is one of immense courage.
At the age of 24 in 2015, Matthew faced a 'catastrophic coming out' when private conversations about his sexuality were exposed to his church congregation via an email shared with over 100 community members. Instead of support, mission leaders demanded he undergo conversion practices and publicly confess in front of 400 fellow missionaries.
"I was wrestling with a growing awareness of a sexuality which, I had been told for as long as I could remember, would lead to my eternal damnation," Matthew later wrote in The Independent. He refused the so-called therapy, proud he could recognise he didn't need a 'cure'. In the aftermath, a former church cancelled his membership due to his 'lifestyle choices'.
Co-founding the Campaign to Ban Conversion Practices
Following this traumatic ordeal, Matthew channelled his experience into activism. He co-founded the Ban Conversion Practices group alongside activist Harry Hitchins, with backing from organisations including Stonewall. The group campaigns to outlaw attempts to suppress or change LGBTQ+ identities.
"These degrading and discriminatory 'treatments' ruin lives. We must outlaw them now," Matthew stated. Despite a UK Government pledge first made in 2018 and a promise of draft legislation in late 2024, no bill has materialised. Matthew hopes his newfound visibility on The Traitors will amplify the urgent need for this law.
Life Beyond the Castle: Art and a BBC Warning
Before his TV fame, Matthew cultivated a unique artistic sideline: selling framed photographic prints of himself performing nude headstands in stunning global locations. A single print sells for £1,180 through gallery Bard Scotland. He runs a dedicated Instagram account for this art, @headstandmatty, which has nearly 17,000 followers.
His cheeky art reportedly caused a stir before The Traitors even began filming. A source revealed Matthew received a strict warning from BBC bosses after they discovered a secret social media account featuring his risqué poses. "While his posts are tastefully done... it does create controversy, especially for the BBC," the source told the Mail.
As viewers tune in to see if Matthew's on-screen plot succeeds, his off-screen narrative stands as a testament to resilience. From fleeing religious persecution to becoming a vocal advocate for legislative change and expressing himself through unconventional art, Matthew Hyndman's life is compelling proof that the most dramatic stories often happen far away from the television cameras.
