Warning: This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of The Traitors season two.
While fans of The Traitors may have had their own feelings about which members of the cast should have been bestowed with one of those iconic cloaks, the decision seemingly rests with the show’s host, Claudia Winkleman.
During Wednesday night’s launch, the presenter was seen interviewing all 22 contestants before apparently deciding which three should be given the title of the Traitors.
The question is… how did she reach her decision?
Well, during a recent Q&A to promote the new season, Claudia said the three she picked were simply the most “passionate”.
“You can’t show all of those chats because otherwise that would be hours, but I do talk to them for a long time,” she explained, as reported by Metro.
On selecting Paul, Claudia said that he was the “most adamant”, recalling: “I mean adamant in the same way that Alyssa in series one she was like, ‘give it to me – I have come here for this title and you’ve got to give it to me’.”
Turning her attention to Harry, the Strictly Come Dancing host continued: “He’s compelling and I thought would play a good game, because he did that whole ‘you want to kiss me or you’re gonna punch me – I’m going to pretend to be an idiot’ [thing]. You’re not an idiot so I look forward to watching what happens here.”
As for Ash, she “really, really, really” wanted both the prize money and the title of Traitor.
“They felt like a good trio and then I wasn’t in control of the fourth which, you know, I’m not a control freak or anything but I was angry about it,” she joked, referring to a twist at the end of episode one which saw the three she chose recruiting a fourth member of the cast into the Traitors.
It’s now up to the rest of the cast, otherwise known as the Faithfuls, to try and work out the identities of the Traitors – although they didn’t exactly get off to the best start, did they?
The first three episodes of The Traitors season two are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. Episodes two and three will also air at 9pm on BBC One on Thursday and Friday night, respectively.