New Traitors contestants include detective, crime writer and psychologist | The Traitors
A retired police detective, a crime writer and a psychologist are among the next contestants to enter the Traitors’ castle after the BBC revealed details of the latest series of its hit sleuthing programme.
A candy store assistant, a cybersecurity expert and a personal trainer are among those who will be split to plot against “traitors” and the “loyalists” tasked with unmasking them.
The latest series, which launches on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer, will see contestants once again embark on joint missions, committing nightly “murders” and making often unsuccessful attempts to identify and exile traitors in their number as they fight for the £120,000 prize fund.
Presenter Claudia Winkleman has already said the “brutal” final series contains a new twist.
This follows the huge success of the celebrity edition of the show in October and November, which saw comedian Alan Carr chart an unconventional path to victory.
This year’s roster of 22 contestants includes a bestselling author adept at shaping deadly narratives. Thriller writer Harriet Tyce, 52, who is also a former criminal lawyer, admits her CV has given her “skills that can be quite useful”.
His previous books include Lessons in Cruelty and the aptly titled Lies You Tell.
“I’ve spent my life making up horrible ways for people to die and killing people on the page,” he said.
“The idea that I could literally conspire to kill people or track down a killer, but, you know, without actual bloodshed, that’s the closest I’ll get to that experience in real life. Honestly, what’s not to like?”
“I’m really good at putting clues together, but if I said all of this I might fall into a puddle of anger and it could be a complete disaster.”
Despite her experience with betrayal and misdirection, she said her plan was to downplay her skills as a novelist and “flip” her role as a housewife and mother, thereby keeping the tension off her early on. “I won’t be a fraud,” he said. “I’ll just downplay it.”
He will be joined at the Scottish castle hosting the show by Amanda, a 57-year-old retired police detective from Brighton who has spent her career uncovering hoaxes and observing suspicious behaviour.
“I’ve done a lot of interviews with criminals and victims. You have to put the pieces together to find the truth and see through the lies,” he said.
“To be a traitor, you have to be good at lying, have a good poker face, and be adept at changing direction to avoid being identified. I learned a lot about being deceptive, deceitful, and cunning.”
Another contestant, 33-year-old Ellie, is thought to be the first psychologist to participate in the program. He said he hoped to bring a “psychological perspective” to the infamous roundtable debates, after which a contestant would be voted out.
He said he hoped to use these skills as a traitor, a tactic of winning over his friends early.
“It’s definitely about trying to connect with people early, because we know around the roundtable that voting isn’t just about who is a suspect, it’s about the connections you make with people,” he said.
“I will also hide my profession because I don’t want people to make assumptions about me.”
The hopefuls include Adam, an outspoken builder, James, a poker-playing gardener, and Reece, a 27-year-old candy store assistant.
