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Evening Standard
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El Hunt and Vicky Jessop

The Traitors: we pick the most iconic moments from seasons one and two

The Traitors - (BBC)

'Tis the season – and no, we’re not talking about Christmas. It’s time for The Traitors season three, which is currently going strong. If you've watched before, you'll know that means more deception, more angsty conversations and oh so much more backstabbing.

In a remote Scottish castle, 22 contestants will compete to win a £120,000 prize by catching and eliminating the secret ‘Traitors’ in their group. If they manage to do it by the final round, they'll each get a share of the prize. If they don't, then any remaining Traitors walk off with it all instead.

Naturally, this kick-started a global phenomenon as the contestants then proceeded to get their Machiavelli on – and as the drama hits its stride once more (fake Welsh accents and warring sisters, anybody?) we’ve rounded up some of the best moments from the truly bonkers seasons one and two, where it all began. Enjoy.

The elimination line

Host and fashionista Claudia Winkleman (seriously, who else is capable of pulling off a cape with such flair?) kicked things off with a bang at the start of season one, by asking the contestants to all stand in a line. The aim: to rank themselves based on who was most and least likely to win.

Amos and Kieran took their place at the end of the line – only to be brutally booted off the show by Claudia. They duly packed their bags and left (for the time being, anyway) leaving the contestants (and the nation) reeling.

Wilf and Amanda kicking out Alyssa

It came as a real shock when Will and Amanda turned on fellow Traitor Alyssa early in the show and sent her packing. Clearly fearing being knocked out during the elimination round (where contestants vote for who they think should leave, Weakest Link-style) Wilf wrote Alyssa’s name on his board.

With votes for Wilf and Alyssa neck and neck, Amanda finally cast the last vote, stunning the nation in the process.

Amanda channelling Wales' spirit animal

Amanda then cemented her status as a show icon shortly after Alyssa’s dramatic exit. In a secret meeting with fellow Traitor Wilf, she warned him against turning on her like the pair did with Alyssa, comparing herself to the Welsh dragon. “What is on the Welsh flag?” she asked Wilf. “A dragon…” he replied. A pause. “If you throw me under the bus…”

Alex and Tom's startling revelation

In perhaps the weirdest turn of events on the show, contestants Alex (27) and Tom (24) entered the show as a couple, but attempted to hide their relationship because they thought it would ruin their chances of winning.

During one particularly tense meeting, suspicion fell on Alex, prompting magician Tom to stand up and deliver the immortal line, “Alex isn’t a Traitor… she’s my GIRLFRIEND!” Cue dropped jaws all round.

Wilf turning on Amanda

Oh, Amanda. Despite her ominous warnings to Wilf, he decided to tussle with the dragon after all. She was left blindsided when Wilf turned on her during a heated roundtable – carefully planting the idea of her guilt in his fellow contestants’ heads before casting the deciding vote during the elimination.

“I’m really sorry Amanda, I put your name,” he said at the time. “The only reason is I didn’t really understand how you could turn on Theo. That was really difficult… if I’ve got it wrong [about you being a Traitor], I’m really sorry.” Top backstabbing behaviour.

Maddy's detective work

Channelling the vague essence of an ancient Greek oracle, Maddy was convinced that Wilf was a traitor from the very beginning. Though her logic was deeply flawed, and the evidence she gathered was questionable ‒ she was convinced that Wilf was in cahoots with pure, innocent Aaron ‒ she frequently identified the right suspects anyway. Unfortunately for poor Maddy, the rest of the contestants largely ignored or ridiculed her theories. Very much the Cassandra of the show.

Claudia’s taste for tweed

It’s unclear whether it’s mandatory to wear ridiculous quantities of tweed for The Traitors presenting gig, or if it’s simply the influence of hanging out at a massive Scottish castle, but either way, Claudia Winkleman embraced it with aplomb. Along with the abundance of tweed, she frequently wore fingerless gloves, and decadently knitted roll-necks so enormous that her face was barely visible between that and her impressive fringe. Never change, Claudia.

The kiss of death

For most of the series, traitors ‘murdered’ their fellow contestants by gathering together in a tiny little turret to select their next victim; Faithfuls found out their fate when they received a wax-stamped note in the middle of the night. But towards the end of the series, producers shook things up: the traitors would need to murder in plain sight at the world’s more tense dinner party. In a stroke of camp genius, somebody behind the scenes decided that it would be a good idea to have the traitors administer a ‘kiss of death’ to identify their next murder target – Amanda duly obliged and ruined the entire night with a single peck. Iconic.

The family affair

One of the biggest ongoing mysteries over season two was unpacking who exactly Diane’s son was. Diane and uber-Traitor Paul’s matching red hair sparked speculation that the two might be related... but plot twist! She did have a son in the game, but it was the dark-haired, bespectacled Ross. Cue some first-rate acting as the pair attempted to disguise the fact that they knew each other at all – and an enjoyably villainous wink to camera from Ross when the contestants were joshing about who Diane’s son could actually be.

Unrelated, but equally enjoyable: Diane’s other son, actor Kerr Logan, going viral for his shocked real-time response to finding out that his mother was on the show. “My mother is on The Traitors. My mother is on The Traitors. My mother is on The Traitors. She’s bonkers. I’m scared,” he wrote. The drama exists even outside the castle.

Paul’s pantomime villain act

You have to hand it to Paul: he was selected as a Traitor, and the man committed. Hard. So hard that he managed to summon fake crocodile tears when he was accused of being a Traitor, got himself put in the dungeon as a fake suspect (though this ultimately ended up being his downfall) and pretty much did everything short of rubbing his hands and cackling to himself in dark corners. His disguise all came unstuck thanks to some hint-dropping by Harry, though – and when he was voted out, he left with a flourish and a deep, deep bow.

Miles’ face when Diane survives the night

Everything about the poison chalice task was iconic (including the end, below). The Traitors have to murder somebody by handing them a cup of ‘poisoned wine’ without anybody else noticing? Yes please. But one of our favourite moments has to be Miles handing Diane the aforementioned deadly drink... only to walk into the breakfast room the following morning and see her still there, seemingly alive. Watching his face cycle between confusion, horror and feigned nonchalance is Oscar-worthy. Inevitably, it spawned endless memes.

Diane attends her own funeral

Toward the end of the show, the shocked contestants found out that one of their own had been murdered ‘by poison chalice’ the night before. But who? To find out, they had to walk down a road lined with gravestones and clues that gradually ruled out everybody who was safe. The climax (apart from the black coach and four and seeing Claudia bedecked in black like a modern-day Edgar Allen Poe): Diane having to climb into her own coffin and be ‘buried’. Real son Ross threw a rose into her coffin and vowed revenge. No notes.

Harry’s final betrayal

After the villainous Paul was ousted from the Traitors table during the nail-biting finale, the Faithfuls’ victory hinged on whether Mollie believed her long-time best Harry could possibly be a Traitor. Spoiler alert: he was, but that didn’t stop Harry from laying it on thick and asking Mollie to trust him. She duly voted out fellow Faithful Jaz, who was convinced that Harry was guilty, before discovering the shattering news. She had been betrayed, and Harry was taking all the prize money for himself. Cue Mollie in floods of tears, Harry thousands of pounds richer and the Traitors wrapping up with one hell of a finale.

The Traitors Season 3 is streaming now on BBC One

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