Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the latest series of The Traitors UK.
After four gripping weeks of double-crossings, fake accents, endlessly quotable faux pas moments and no end of absolute serves from Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors is, regrettably, over for another year.
This year’s finale was the first in which no Traitors made it to the last showdown round the firepit – but that didn’t stop the group from turning on one another, with four Faithfuls being whittled down to two as paranoia continued to set in for the finalists.
Despite the treacherous team falling at the last hurdle, the latest season gave us a team of Traitors of varying levels of success, from the jaw-dropping ruthlessness of Charlotte to the iconic stylings of Linda.
This led us to thinking about who the best ever Traitors from the UK series have been – so here’s our definitive ranking of the 15 contestants who’ve paid a visit to the turret in the last three seasons…
Freddie (season 3)
Oh, Freddie. You were not cut out for the life of a Traitor and we all knew it.
Freddie, of course, was recruited as a sacrificial lamb for Charlotte in one of her final acts as a Traitor, before royally stitching him up and leading to his banishment.
Even so, his inability to think on his feet and penchant for only talking his way into a bigger mess has put him at the bottom of our ranking, even if he did make for some brilliant moments this past series.
Ross (season 2)
Like Freddie, Ross was chosen as a last-minute appointment because he was already under suspicion from the group, and lasted just one day as a Traitor before the group wound up showing him the door.
He was spared from the bottom of our list because he, at least, managed to keep one secret during his time in the show – the fact his mum is the legend, icon and diva that is Diane Carson.
Ash (season 2)
The first of the 2024 Traitors to be caught, Ash lasted five days of killing before the heat on her became too much for the group to ignore, and she was shown the door.
Awkwardly, a day earlier both of her Traitor cohorts had turned on her at the round table, leading to a rather uncomfortable confrontation in the turret later that night.
Armani (season 3)
Armani had an interesting strategy on the latest season of The Traitors – basically making herself enough of a loud voice in the group that it would almost be too obvious to call her a Traitor.
It worked – if only briefly, and she now holds the unenviable title of fastest OG Traitor to be caught out by the Faithful.
Our favourite moment of Armani’s was her telling Linda and Minah how to improve their game, only to be shown the door less than 24 hours later.
Andrew (season 2)
Another unwilling and short-lived Traitor, Andrew had prided himself on his placement in the Faithful group, before was given an ultimatum by Harry and lured to the dark side.
In fairness to Andrew, he did make it to the final day in the castle, but was sniffed out by the rest of the group, paving the way for Harry to take the whole grand prize for himself.
Kieran (season 1)
As another member of the one-day club (Kieran was recruited by Wilf at the eleventh hour because there was already heat on him), you might wonder why Kieran is so high on the list.
However, while his stint as a Traitor might not have been particularly fruitful, his infamous “parting gift” for Wilf was so beautifully petty – not to mention integral in him getting ousted from the group at the firepit – that we had to give him some kudos.
Alyssa (season 1)
Compared to some of the more ruthless traitors from Alyssa’s season – we’re looking your way, Wilf and Amanda – you’d be forgiven for thinking that she was a bit of a wilting flower.
However, she lasted a respectable six days before becoming the first ever Traitor to be banished from the UK show, when fellow Traitor Wilf threw her under the bus to try and take the heat off him at the roundtable.
Linda (season 3)
Linda’s card was effectively marked when, one minute after taking her blindfold off, she outed herself as a Traitor in front of eventual winner Jake, who never let it go the entire time she was in the castle.
After that, she fuelled the fire herself with suspicious behaviour and some serious overacting.
Why, then, isn’t she further down our ranking? Well, because despite being the second most blatant Traitor in the show’s history (sorry, Freddie), she still managed a full week in the competition before the group finally booted her out.
Miles (season 2)
Miles was specifically targeted for recruitment by the original Traitors because of his popularity within the group, and managed to skate by unnoticed for a good few days.
However, his undoing came with one of the most iconic moments in Traitors history, when he was forced to murder Diane in plain sight, handing her the poisoned chalice that would eventually lead to his own banishment.
Paul (season 2)
More than a year later, we’re still a little puzzled as to how Paul lasted so long in the castle when so many people were pointing him out as an obvious traitor.
That – as well as the little bow he did on his way out the door – are why we’ve got him in the upper echelon of UK Traitors.
Amanda (season 1)
Kicking off our top five it’s the OG Traitors hun, who managed to slip by unnoticed for 10 whole episodes, all while killing people off with the unbothered ruthlessness that only an estate agent could pull off.
Who could forget her iconic blue manicure, her impeccable pep talks or the time she gave Wilf a reminder about “what is on the flag of Wales”?
Minah (season 3)
Oh Minah, you were doing so well.
Like Amanda before her, Minah managed to sail under the radar for the most part by being everyone’s friend and keeping her mouth shut unless called on, all while gleefully picking the group off one by one in the turret.
Even when she was under suspicion, Minah managed to bat off accusations – that is until she met her match in Charlotte, missing out on the final by just two short days.
Charlotte (season 3)
We get it, Charlotte’s methods might not be to everyone’s tastes, but let’s not forget that everyone on that line-up signed up for a show called The Traitors, and she played the game more gleefully than anyone who came before her (made even more jarring by the fact that she often did it dressed more like a member of The Wiggles than a low-key machiavellian).
The fact that she did all of this with a fake Welsh accent only adds to what made her such a stand-out on this year’s series.
Wilf (season 1)
Wilf had a rollercoaster time in the castle, being made a Traitor on day one and repeatedly being forced to charm his way out of the hotseat, while keeping his most vocal accusers (namely Maddie) around simply to avoid suspicion.
It’s impossible to know whether Aaron, Meryl and Hannah would actually have wound up walking away with the money by banishing Wilf were it not for Kieran raising his suspicions before his own banishment.
Harry (season 2)
It was touch and go in the last week of this year’s season, but Harry now remains the only Traitor from the UK franchise to walk away with the prize money.
From the moment we saw his smirk when chosen by Claudia in episode one, it was clear that it was a role he was born to play, eventually picking off his fellow players – including other traitors – over the course of the series, before dealing his pal Mollie the ultimate blow and running off with the money for himself.
All three seasons of The Traitors are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. A celebrity series is also due to air in the autumn.