Mencap Shares Traitors-Inspired Thank You Message To Fans After Flurry Of Donations

The Traitors fave Alexander inspired a wave of donations, with the charity revealing supporters have pledged almost £50,000 after hearing his story.
Alexander's personal story inspired a wave of donations to Mencap.
Alexander's personal story inspired a wave of donations to Mencap.
Cody Burridge/BBC/Studio Lambert

Mencap has shared a heartfelt message to the public after revealing over £46,000 has been donated since the learning disability charity was mentioned by The Traitors contestant Alexander Dragonetti.

Following the former diplomat’s shock exit from the Bafta-winning reality show on Friday, it was revealed he had been playing with the hopes of donating his prize money to Mencap.

Alexander’s brother º who had a global developmental delay and autism – died aged 17. Alexander was 24 at the time.

The Traitors star has been vocal about how the charity supported his family – with his story inspiring 3,000 supporters to donate in his name.

On Tuesday, Mencap shared a touching video tribute to Alexander, who has become something of an online sensation after his operatic (and hilarious) rendition of a backwards nursery rhyme during one of The Traitors’ challenges.

In a video, the team can be heard singing “spur ber yer yer yer yer” (a nod to Alexander’s attempt on the hit TV show) before holding up “thank you” signs.

“The Traitors fans, you are amazing,” the charity shared in the video, which was posted on X.

🎶Spur ber yer yer yer yer🎶

Traitors Fans are faithful to the end🙌

Since Friday, over £46,000 has been donated to Mencap by over 3,000 people after hearing Alexander Dragonetti ’s story! pic.twitter.com/6ofwOr1q2n

— Mencap (@mencap_charity) January 28, 2025

Earlier in the week, Alexander reacted to news that his story had inspired fans to donate tens of thousands of pounds in his name.

He told Yahoo: “That is fantastic. I am so grateful to anybody who’s donated or felt moved to spread awareness about it.

“I know firsthand how challenging it can be for parents with children with special needs or siblings with brothers and sisters who have special needs or other relationships too.”

He added: “It’s such a challenging job. It’s a full-time job, and it’s very hard to advocate or to speak out as well.

“And if I can play that role even a bit for families like that or with charities, then I’d be honoured to do that, and it would be one of the most powerful things that I could take out of this experience.”

Last week, Alexander gave an interview to the BBC about how The Traitors had helped him become more “vulnerable”, after trying to “shut off” his emotions in the wake of his brother’s death.

“I’ve always struggled to be somebody who shows their emotions, not least because when my brother died, it was so overwhelming, so deeply emotional, that I just struggled to go back there,” he admitted.

“I try to shut all that off, and I always think that if I make the best choices, I can avoid ever having to feel like that again.”

He added: “I think the game has really taught me of the importance of being vulnerable.”

The first three seasons of The Traitors UK are all available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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