Wild party antics of Traitor Rachel: Ahead of Friday’s final, we reveal bizarre toilet stunt, why shocked friends told her to ‘behave herself’, her Parkinson’s-stricken mum’s advice and more

He divided the country with his manipulative and cruel behavior while committing murders on his way to The Traitors’ biggest prize money.

But while many viewers have accused Rachel Duffy of being ‘smug and self-important’, others are hailing her as one of the hit soap’s best villains yet.

When the BBC cameras aren’t rolling, mother-of-three Rachel from Newry, Northern Ireland, is a fun-loving party animal with a penchant for turning down shots, singing karaoke and decking herself out in glitter.

An employee of the 43-year-old communications director told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Rachel is the life and soul of any party. He gets along with everyone and loves to have a good time.

‘He’s not afraid of being the center of attention. He loves to scream and giggle.

‘He definitely has a passion for shag and karaoke. He embraces the view that life is for living and enjoying. He loves nothing more than a big celebration.’

Instead of blowing out the candles on her 40th birthday, she stuck her head into the birthday cake to take a big bite in front of her lawyer husband Seamus.

In the video uploaded to the Instagram account, someone can be heard saying ‘Rachel, pull yourself together’ as if he knew what else to do.

Friends say she enjoys nothing more than a “girls trip,” and in a photo on Instagram, she can be seen wearing a pair of white heart-shaped sunglasses during a trip to Paris.

He was also the life and soul of Marbella’s star-studded Ocean Beach club, where he drank champagne with friends.

One of the 43-year-old communications director’s colleagues said: ‘He definitely has a passion for filming and karaoke.’

On her 40th birthday, instead of blowing out the candles, Rachel stuck her head into the birthday cake to take a big bite out of it, as her husband, lawyer Seamus, watched.

In another picture, she is shown enjoying a day out at a tea party, where she poses with a teapot on her head, before heading to a gin party.

And it’s pretty much the same at business events. As head of marketing and communications at Clanrye Group, she helps plan overseas youth programs and manage community family support services.

At the Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards 2022, she did a handstand in the ladies’ toilets to mark the occasion and captioned the photo: ‘Who doesn’t love a good awards ceremony?! Although I have a hard time sitting still when they ask for creative tweets. Maybe I’ll behave this year.’

So it was only right that Rachel brought all her friends and family together for the opening episode of The Traitors; where they discovered that he had been chosen as one of the traitors by host Claudia Winkleman.

It’s this friendly, happy-go-lucky attitude that has helped him win so many friends among the Loyalists.

Despite efforts from both Fiona Hughes, 62, and Harriet Tyce, 53, to get him to explain his game plan, there seems to be nothing stopping him. Rachel is one of the favorites to win this Friday’s final. And he has a steely determination.

He made no secret of the fact that he wanted to win the six-figure prize money. He was so determined to succeed that he revealed he received four months of FBI training before filming.

He told his fellow contestants that at least part of this guide was about ‘the beauty of microexpressions and people’s ability to lie.’

In a touching photo, Rachel’s mother Anne, who has dementia in her 40s and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, is seen proudly holding a T-shirt with the words “My daughter is a traitor” written across the front.

Her Facebook profile photo includes a photo of her beloved father walking her down the aisle on her wedding day. He died in 2016 at the age of 67

Rachel pokes fun at her own time on the show posted on Instagram

But behind the desire to win lies heartbreak. He explained on last Friday’s show that he wanted to do this for his beloved mother Anne, 70, who has dementia and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when she was in her forties.

In a touching photo, Anne is seen proudly holding a T-shirt with the words ‘My daughter is a traitor’ written across the front.

Rachel said: ‘My mum was just 47 when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s; He was four years older than me and facing dementia, but he still surprises me and my family every day.’

He said that if he went all the way and won the money, he would spend it on Mother. Rachel added: ‘I want to create memories with her while I’m lucky enough to have her, and I want to create memories with my children because they love their nanny.’

Rachel also lost her beloved father, Raymond Mullen, in 2016 at the age of 67. Her Facebook profile picture is a photo of her walking down the aisle on her wedding day.

The couple were extremely close and she was devastated when he died. His older brother is Darren Mullen, who is the manager of Newry City football club, and he also has two brothers, Neil and Shane, and a sister, Joanne.

The whole family is said to be ‘larger than life’. A family friend said: ‘The Mullen family are very well known in Newry.

‘Darren was in the heart of the city when he was managing the football club, but so was the whole family.

‘They’re all very close and supportive of each other, so of course they rented a local venue to watch Rachel go rogue.

‘It was a big deal for all of them. He had the support of the whole city. Everyone is behind him, but we don’t know how he managed to stay silent for so long.

‘He told everyone he had to go to England for work, but he was actually in Scotland filming The Traitors.’

Rachel is currently in the final stages of the fourth series of the show, which was filmed at Ardross Castle near Inverness last summer. Their final scene will be explosive, insiders say.

While he was predicted to win, eagle-eyed fans noticed hints that Loyal Jack Butler could pull off the victory.

The 29-year-old actor said in last Friday’s program that he wanted to make a deposit for a house and propose to his girlfriend if he won the prize money.

Jack popped the question after filming the series in Santorini in July and shared a series of photos on social media.

But if she captured the title, she would have to go up against Rachel, and Rachel was nothing to mess with. Just ask your local friends.

A meme shared in Newry groups supporting Rachel says: ‘You’re coming for a Newry woman, you better not miss it.’

As the final week of Traitors approaches, the Loyalists struggle to defeat this fun-loving, treacherous party girl.

And that must make Anne proud. Because Rachel explains that her mother’s words of wisdom for her were always: ‘Don’t get caught.’