Compared to tired old franchises like ‘Love Island’ and ‘I’m a Celeb’, ‘The Traitors’ continued to shine this January. Across a brilliantly devious third season of the show, it’s the Faithfuls who have been the true villains for their incompetence, argues Hannah Ewens.
![[Queen of high camp, Claudia Winkleman]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/17/14/504125.jpg)
I watch a lot of similar series so feel comfortable in saying that The Traitors’ third season has proven it is still the best British reality TV show on air. It makes tired old franchises – Love Island, The Apprentice, I’m a Celeb – look dead and purposeless. And of course it does: how many ways can people date, launch a product or attempt to exist in a jungle? Very few, as we’ve seen over the decades of these increasingly rote shows. But how many ways can people lie, manipulate, scheme, form alliances and unfortunately display their prejudices for the public to see? So many. I could never get bored of this sport, especially when it’s so deliciously camp. One of the highlights of this season was a typically overdressed Winkleman deadpanning “my sons”, as two enormous men transported her from their shoulders to the floor.
The genius of The Traitors is that it channels the manic spirit of the parlour games that inspired it – such as Mafia or Wink, Murder – which are exactly the sort of “games” (see: life or death activities that only end in hot tears and someone storming to their bedroom) you play with your extended family at Christmas. The goal for everyone involved is clear, highly boundaried and constantly reminded to them and us: contestants picked as Traitors must survive and kill, Faithfuls must catch and banish. The prize money goes up to £120,000, so tensions get high and people get nasty. This year, people got positively hysterical (led by fiery Leanne).
