*Spoilers for The Traitors Seasons 1-3*

The Traitors – the murderous, backstabbing fun for all of the family returned last month, but it is as much an illuminating social experiment as it is a gameshow.

Over almost as quickly as it begun, it’s hard to believe that we’ve got another year to wait until BBC’s The Traitors returns to dominate what used to be gloomy January evenings everywhere.  Described as the ‘crown jewel’ of the BBC, the show has rocketed itself into the hearts of the nation, with nearly 10 million people watching its thrilling finale. Whilst other franchises, like I’m a Celebrity and Big Brother, seem only to be declining in numbers, The Traitors is on the rise, receiving over a million more live viewers this year than in 2024.

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Described as the ‘crown jewel’ of the BBC, the show has rocketed itself into the hearts of the nation

With the vast catalogue of programs available nowadays, thanks to streaming, the notes app of TV recommendations from friends and family grows longer by the day. How often are you watching, or streaming, the same show as more than one or two or your friends? The Traitors reminds us of the joys of a collective viewing – the momentum and exhilaration of watching and reacting together, a sentiment felt especially at a time where an abundance of choice means you often spend more time looking for a programme than actually watching it. The Traitors shows us that broadcast television isn’t dead. If done right, it is alive for all to see.

Yes, the game has flaws. It is logistically flawed in that there has to be a traitor in the game at all times, which means that contestants can become traitors at any point in the game. For some, like OG traitor Minah, this meant that she was forced to recruit once she was the only remaining traitor in the game. Minah’s choice to recruit Charlotte was one which ultimately sealed her fate, for Charlotte approached the game with arguably an even greater tenacity and ruthlessness than her predecessor. But, we as an audience have shown a certain willing to overlook these flaws to feed our appetites for banishing, murder and more.

Outside of the theatre of it all, one of the most poignant aspects of the show is how it confronts us with the ongoing construction of social hierarchies and ingrained biases.

The speed at which racialised, gendered and age-based biases flood the round table is remarkable in highlighting how in situations of pressure and mistrust, prejudice is often the first weapon we reach for. Observations of racial microaggressions in player’s behaviours have been made over the last two years. In Season two, the theories brought forward by Jaz (dubbed ‘Jazatha Christie’ by fans) were overlooked throughout the entirety of the game and mistrust from fellow players ultimately cost him the win. A similar atmosphere of mistrust was observed around another South Asian player this year, Kasim, whose status as a Doctor and kind demeanour was deemed ‘suspicious’. Kasim was repeatedly targeted at the round table, which was actually painful to watch as viewers, along with seeing him ostracised by other players outside of the round table.

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The speed at which racialised, gendered and age-based biases flood the round table is remarkable in highlighting how in situations of pressure and mistrust, prejudice is often the first weapon we reach for

This year’s winner, Leanne Quiggley, clearly having observed the strategic potential of these biases, utilised them in her favour. She told her fellow players that she was a nail technician, whilst withholding the information that she has served as a corporal for the British Army for the last ten years. Great for Leanne – this decision worked perfectly. Less enthusing for feminism, her choice laid bare for all to see the negative connotations around female dominated occupations. In a game where it pays to be underestimated, Leanne’s choice to move from the masculine to the feminine in the eye’s of fellow players was a genius, if slightly saddening, one.

Britain has long been accused of ignoring the dark sides of its history and this aversion to guilt and confrontation is embedded deep in British culture. Too quickly might we pat ourselves on the back for a ‘diverse cast’, taking this representation at face value as evidence of successful integration. What The Traitors has shown us, however, is that appearances may say one thing, but behaviour says another. The Traitors is a social experiment as much as it is a game show. In the microcosm of The Castle, internalised biases are reproduced by contestants, which is so telling of the persistence of discriminatory views and treatment within Britain beyond the tv screen. I love that the show confronts us with this, without even trying to.

On top of the innate good that seeing Claudia Winkleman’s latest turtleneck or golden, sometimes cutthroat, one-liners of exasperation at the Faithful’s blindness, does to viewer’s mental health individually, there is a lot to say for the show’s incredible reach and impact. This year, fan favourite Alexander (rumoured to be in the run-up for Strictly this year, which I’d personally love to see) spoke on the show about where he would donate the money if he were to win – to the disability support charity Mencap, in honour of his late brother and how the charity supported his family.

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it had a slightly dystopian undertone, like one Susanne Collins might have come up with

All the final six contestants spoke of their motivations for winning the money, be it to put towards IVF, their children or their education. This scene was emotional, and effective in adding more personal depth to each contestant. However, in the context where each of these contestants, who each had beautiful, complex and heart-wrenching reasons behind why they deserved the money, would inevitably have to ‘kill’ each other in order to win it themselves, it had a slightly dystopian undertone, like one Susanne Collins might have come up with. Such is the nature of the game, but I think this sense of loss, of injustice, particularly surrounding exiled Faithfuls Frankie and Alexander, was felt strongly by audiences. Not just because their favourites – these two were crowned ‘King and Queen of The Traitors‘ on Twitter – had lost the game, but that their reasons, particularly Alexander’s, were so touching for audiences. This is evident in the over £70,000 raised by the public for Mencap since the final, a sum far greater than the money Alexander would have received had he won.

There’s little doubt in my mind that the show is so successful because it targets our darker instincts, those which pull us towards drama, conflict, deceit, demise, the rise and fall of powerful figures- Claudia Winkleman’s lined, fringed glare. Whilst revealing in these slightly more sobering ways, the show also casts light on the power of broadcast television to connect audiences, trumpet important causes and confront the internalised biases which reside within us all. The feelings of shock, awe, sympathy and suspense make any television show gripping, whether streamed or broadcast. But live, experienced at once among the millions, they are only magnified.

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