Sabotage, Claudia’s ire and the chess board is back as the game heats up

Spoiler alert: This article reveals details of the sixth episode of The Celebrity Traitors.

It started with a cliffhanger and ended with a cliffhanger.

Host Claudia Winkleman was in no mood to stir things up, either.

When the banishment vote was split and had to be decided for the first time by chance – or should we say, Chance Box – he shouted “Silence please” to the contestants seated at the round table. A dramatic version of a coin toss, if you will.

Poor Mark Bonnar – an actor punished for overacting – hit the high road when his chosen ballot box was empty (perhaps he shouldn’t have sung The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond in Wednesday’s episode). Historian David Olusoga luckily he found a protective shield within it.

One fan at X was clearly amused. “Imagine this is the first time they’ve done this lucky box thing and there are more than 2 loyal‘, they thought, then joking: “They literally made this up behind the cameras.”

But it was no laughing matter for the faithful, who were officially the worst-performing band of all time in the UK version of the show.

In the first series of The Traitors, it took six episodes for the loyalists to catch a traitor. And the game was new. This group is still on the hunt heading into the seventh episode, with only nine players remaining from the original 19 players. And three of them are traitors. The Faithful have only three divisions left to catch them.

Once again, believers had to ponder another failure.

Claudia sounded truly distraught, her voice cracking as she told the group: “You’re breaking my heart, you don’t understand, what can’t you see? You have to open your eyes, please.”

“I feel like we lost this game badly. And I think it’s only going to get worse,” David added darkly.

On a lighter note, while we all know someone who fast-forwards through challenges while watching them catch up, there was real excitement on Thursday night thanks to the return of last season’s life-size chessboard and spectacular villainous figures. Think Darth Vader after his growth spurt.

Sir Stephen Fry He lived up to his clever reputation by predicting the return of the chessboard at breakfast: “I might be a knight – oh, I already am,” he joked. comic Alan Carr Predictably, he was quick to take any possible smugness: “Or an old queen,” he quipped.

In fact, Alan continues to pursue his villainous role with increasing enthusiasm.

While discussing who to kill next in the tower, the traitor asked the singer Cat Burns and presenter Jonathan Ross: “Stephen Fry: Shall we do this and kill him? What is chivalry when he is dead?”

“Brutal,” Jonathan replied, and he wasn’t wrong.

“It gets easier every time,” Alan said later.

“I’m now brimming with confidence… I don’t shed a single drop of sweat.”

But he was a comedian Joe Wilkinson Another faithful sent to meet his creator was put to the sword.

Alan’s strategy skills were then put to the test on the giant chessboard.

Competitors were divided into teams but a former rugby player Joe Marler He was not happy as he believed (correctly) that the traitors were on one team and that they would know all the answers to Claudia’s questions (which the traitors had determined).

Thus, some trade-offs emerged between groups.

Nick later admitted at the round table that he and Joe colluded in sabotaging the final round of the chess game so Nick’s team lost. He wanted to protect more believers because he believed there were more traitors in his own team. But that’s just the journalist’s Kate Garraway be skeptical.

A viewer sharing on X noted: “Nick committed a loyal sabotage! Never seen before games!“

Speaking of Kate, she also used her profession as a journalist to defend her performance on the show (she was voted the weakest player during the chess game).

“My weakness turned into a strength. I finally came in handy,” he joked, explaining that he wasn’t very good at the game because his job was just asking questions and not giving opinions.

Then it was her turn for a fashion moment when she was seen sitting at the dressing table in her leopard print pajamas. Luckily, there were no clashes with Jonathan, who is an animal print guy and instead opted for a Showaddywaddy-style long checkered coat (if you’re old enough to remember those).

Other key moments in the show included Celia mentioning Alan’s name at breakfast.

“I woke up thinking about you…” he told her over a plate of croissants.

“A fantasy?” Alan chuckled. Actress Celia Imrie She confessed in the previous episode that she was in love with Jonathan, so maybe now it was Alan’s turn.

The Big Dog theory reared its head once again: would Jonathan or Sir Stephen be put to the sword?

“Looks like I’m one of the whining hounds; I’d say either Jonathan or Alan,” Sir Stephen said earlier in the day.

They finally seemed to be getting closer to the truth. Or were they?

Joe Marler called Jonathan “The wolf of traitors” and said, “Mr. Ross’s time is up.”

It was the most testy roundtable ever as pressure and frustration mounted.

Sir Stephen pointed to Cat and stated that traitors do not sleep as much as believers. But he said his autism and ADHD meant he “made a lot more effort to talk”.

After much debate, one of the Big Dogs was finally removed. But not the right one (at least for believers). Sir Stephen, AKA the knight in shining armor, was exiled.

In the podcast Traitors Uncloaked after the show, Sir Stephen found out who the Traitors were.

“Two big dogs and a little cat,” was his answer.

On the losing chess team, Jonathan, Kate, Nick and Lucy are now accused of murder. And it will be a face-to-face kill on the chessboard. Your movement is traitors.

Famous Traitors is on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. There will be nine episodes.