It is undeniable to see. The Traitors has everybody hooked. Initially airing in the Netherlands in 2021, it has taken the world by storm. 36 countries have produced their own version of the show, each with their own iconic twists and turns.
Season four of The Traitors UK has just come to an end. The final received an average of 9.4 million viewers the day it aired. This is the most watched episode of the UK civilian show, only second to the finale of The Celebrity Traitors in late 2025. This series of The Traitors had so many amazing moments, but here are my personal top five.
If you haven’t watched season four of The Traitors UK, stop reading now; there are spoilers ahead!
Fiona: Secret Traitor and showdowns
This year, viewers were able to play at home. Nobody knew the identity of the secret traitor. It was revealed to be Fiona Hughes, a 62 year old Local Government officer from Swansea. She caused shock waves in the turret, seemingly threatened by Rachel Duffy. Viewers were amazed and shocked by this reveal!
However, Fiona didn’t last as long in the castle as she might have hoped. After the banishment of the faithful retired Metropolitan Police detective, Amanda Collier, Fiona exploded. Amanda had kept her job description a secret, but revealed it to traitor Rachel the day of her banishment. Rachel told everyone Amanda’s former occupation, and Fiona accused her of lying in front of the rest of the faithful. This led to one of the most tense altercations in the turret. Fellow traitor Stephen Duffy’s facial expressions were exactly how the viewers felt.
Unfortunately for Fiona, Rachel had the upper hand, and Fiona was banished at the next round table, after the “murder” of sweet shop assistant Reece Ward. However, her legacy as the first ever secret traitor remains iconic.
Harriet puts the cat amongst the pigeons
One of the most talked about moments in the show was when faithfuls Harriet Tyce and Matthew Hyndman were given the opportunity to speak to the traitors in the castle chapel. Having been the driving force of traitor Hugo Bailey’s banishment, former barrister and crime novelist Harriet Tyce had proved herself to be a good and faithful. However, she blew Stephen and Rachel’s minds as they were hiding in the confessional. She revealed that she knew that Rachel was in there, and this formidable player had Rachel nervous for the first time in the game.
She then came into breakfast, all guns blazing, which led to her iconic line –
The cabin mission
As with most seasons, this year had some incredibly funny and entertaining missions. However, the most memorable one for me was when our competitors were sent to Claudia’s cabin in the woods. The cabin has already become famous for other moments, such as Alexander Dragonetti’s backwards singing from season three, and Celia Imrie farting in the celebrity version.
This season, the cabin became a house of horrors. The players had to dissect a number of clues. They weren’t alone, though. They were met by blood dripping down the wall, smashing windows, and as ever, creepy dolls. The clues would give the players a name on a gravestone near by, with only one shield up for grabs. If the player got the right grave, a hand would shoot up out of the ground, giving them a bag of money to add to the prize pot.
Ultimately, it was Sam who went for the shield. However, this made him suspicious to the other players, and he was banished at that night’s round table.
This mission was classic Traitors. It had the players and the viewers at home on the edge of their seats.
The Final Chest of Chance
In the last banishment before the final, the stakes could not have been higher. Players were at a deadlock, with 22-year-old internal auditor Faraaz Noor heavily suspecting Rachel, whereas other players were suspicious of gardener James Baker, because of his unpredictability, and the fact that he took a shield covertly in another mission. At the round table, there were three votes each. Rachel and James had to state their case before the remaining four players, Jade, Faraaz, Stephen, and Jack, had to vote again.
Jade changed her vote to Rachel, Jack changed his to James, and they were at a standstill again. Their fates were up to chance, and whatever the outcome was would completely change the game. If Rachel went, they would have got a traitor out before the final. If James went, the likelihood of Rachel being the next banishment was high.
However, before viewers could see who was through to the final five, the episode finished. Viewers were outraged. It was a long 23 hours. In the final episode of the season, it was revealed that it was James who did not receive the shield and was therefore banished.
In true James fashion, he was unpredictable to the end. When leaving, he said he was a ‘Traitful’ tricking fellow players into believing he was in fact a traitor, and then revealed his true identity as a faithful. Rachel was through, and there was all to play for at the endgame.
The historic endgame
That just left five players. Faraaz, Jack, Jade, Rachel & Stephen. Rachel was in a very precarious position after her near-banishment the night before. Meanwhile, fellow traitor Stephen was battling his own demons on whether to stay loyal to Rachel or not. The two had made a pact saying they would never write each other’s names down for banishment.
Meanwhile, faithfuls Faraaz, Jack and Jade were finding it difficult. Jack suspected Rachel, whilst Faraaz suspected Jade and Stephen. The pair agreed to vote for Jade first, and this unfortunately led to her banishment at the final round table.
However, they were no match for Stephen and Rachel at the endgame. The two traitors voted Faraaz out. This meant that Stephen was guaranteed to be victorious. But would he sell Rachel out? Or take the money for himself?
In the end, Stephen stayed loyal to Rachel. The two split the £95,750 prize pot, with £47,875 each. This was the first time in UK Traitors’ history that two traitors were victorious. It is also the first time that a female traitor won the show, after Harry Clark from season two was the first civilian traitor to win, and of course, iconic Alan Carr took the money in the celebrity version.
The fourth series of The Traitors UK had so much to offer. The fun doesn’t stop there, though! You can now watch the first series of The Traitors Ireland on BBC iPlayer, hosted by Derry Girls’ own Siobhan McSweeney.
