The Traitors unveiled the identity of the much talked about Secret Traitor last night – but did you spot these four clues hidden in plain sight?
Claudia Winkleman chose the anonymous red-cloaked Traitor in episode one – but with a key twist.
The fellow Traitors, Faithful and viewers alike were all in the dark about their identity.
Up until the reveal, the Secret Traitor orchestrated each night’s ‘murder’ by providing the other Traitors with a shortlist of three names.
On Wednesday (January 7), fans tuned in to see 62-year-old Fiona Hughes finally revealed as the Secret Traitor. The other Traitors, Stephen and Rachel, were both visibly gobsmacked to discover the Secret Traitor’s identity.
The pair finally learned who had been quietly in control of their treacherous activities from the very start. Now that Fiona’s secret is out, there are some key hints even eagle-eyed viewers may have previously overlooked.
On Wednesday (January 7), The Traitors viewers tuned in to see Fiona Hughes (pictured) revealed as the Secret Traitor
Before she was officially confirmed as the Secret Traitor, fans were suspicious of Fiona’s behaviour in confessionals
Confessionals
Throughout the game, all players regardless of their role give confessionals to the camera.
Traitors and Faithful are usually identified as such with an on-screen graphic, but initially in this series, it only applied to people with confirmed roles.
Although this was the case, some fans were nevertheless suspicious of Fiona due to her behaviour in the confessionals.
One person said: ‘Her confessionals scream cheeky traitor who’s having fun with it.
‘I also think she’s finding it easy to hide because she can say anything she wants without fear of backlash from a traitor.’
Ben’s ‘murder’
A conversation Ben had with five other players before his ‘murder’ implicated not only the regular Traitors, but Secret Traitor Fiona too
In episode three, it was revealed The Traitors had ‘murdered’ Faithful contestant Ben – not realising this implicated them in the process.
During the previous night, Ben had a conversation in the library with a group of other players.
This included Fiona (Secret Traitor), Stephen (Traitor) as well as Faithfuls Ellie, Jessie and James.
Ben told the group that if he didn’t return the next day, to look at fellow player Ross as a suspect.
Sure enough, Ben’s name ended up on that night’s murder shortlist – suggesting the Secret Traitor had been present for that chat.
Voting choices
Across the two roundtables held prior to the Secret Traitor reveal, Fiona’s votes aligned with the majority opinion
In the two roundtables prior to her reveal, Fiona’s vote to banish aligned with the majority opinion.
This is a typical tactic used by Traitors on the show – as a way to avoid suspicion and to be seen as thinking the same way as others.
As Secret Traitor, Fiona knew exactly which role every other player had within the game.
A viewer noted: ‘I have noticed over the past few seasons that traitors are MORE LIKELY to say the following when voting to banish somebody (they would know) is faithful: ‘I hope I’m right.’
Case in point, upon voting to banish Judy, Fiona told her fellow player: ‘I sincerely hope I’m right.’
Sound effect hint
Ahead of the reveal on Wednesday, the BBC show’s edit had positioned Fiona as one of the main suspects to be the Secret Traitor
Under normal circumstances, when all Traitors are known to viewers, the show uses a familiar sound effect after they say something suspicious.
For the mystery of the Secret Traitor, several players positioned as ‘suspects’ in the edit received this after seemingly innocent remarks.
Of course, one of them was Fiona – with other names in the frame including Amanda, Harriet, Ross and Sam.
Therefore, once Fiona was finally confirmed as the Secret Traitor, viewers know in hindsight that her comments were deceptive after all.
Addressing this, a viewer said: ‘I feel like the editing makes it really obvious or wants everyone to believe it’s her.’
‘Every time she’s shown and says something, there’s a music/gasp sound. She said some weird things about how you should react
Speaking on the decision to change the format this year, Mike Cotton, the Creative Director at Studio Lambert, explained: ‘Each series is like its own murder mystery. We never change the core game, but we always work in twists.
‘We thought it would be interesting if you didn’t know who one of the Traitors was.
‘As Claudia says in the show, the secret Traitors’ reign will go on until the others earn the power back.
‘The Traitors are used to having all of the power, so it will be interesting to see how they navigate that and if they can use it to their advantage.’
The Traitors continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
