The Traitors airs Wednesday, Thursday and Friday on BBC One at 9pm; the final is on Friday 24 January
Another group of strangers have lined up at the picturesque Scottish Highlands castle to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, as the BBC reality show returns for a third series.
And, in all its camp glory, it is off to a riveting start with early surprises, rule changes and host Claudia Winkleman still hamming it up delightfully. The number of contestants this year has risen from 22 to 25, but three of them essentially got off the train to Ardross Castle in an early "sacrifice"... albeit, with a twist as two returned to the game later. Hidden amongst the tribe are the Traitors whose job is to secretly murder their fellow players, without getting caught. It's up to the others, the Faithful, to try to detect who the Traitors are, and banish them from the game, before they become their next victim.
Those who make it to the final this year will no longer reveal whether they are a Faithful or Traitor as they are banished. Instead, the remaining players will have to rely on their instincts about whether or not any Traitors are left, making their decision of when to end the game harder.
Last year, Traitor Harry Clarke, a 23-year-old former British Army engineer, ruthlessly betrayed sweet Faithful Mollie Pearce to take home the £95,150 prize pot. Again, there's up to £120,000 up for grabs. Winkleman's fingerless hand-warmers might be firmly on, but for the players, the gloves are off.
So who has the smarts to win? Here's a rundown of this year's hopefuls and current standings.
Yin's game was short-lived after the Traitors decided to murder her over concerns about her intellectual threat. "I'm 90 per cent competitive, 10 per cent fun," she said. Not much fun being the Traitors' first victim. "I'm not embarrassed to be out first, but I'm disappointed," she concluded.
With eight votes, Nathan was the first contestant to be banished at the round table. He thought he'd bring "chaos" to the game, but he raised suspicion way too early. A blow for the Faithful squad.
"I was likeable, I was a father figure, I was a friend," said Keith. He's also been lying to his wife for the past 35 years about enjoying her spaghetti bolognaise. At least she doesn't make it with corned beef, Keith. The Traitors thought that getting rid of Keith would "shock" the group and upset players.
Elen showed early promise and had eyes on Linda from the get-go, believing that the Traitors included at least one strong woman. But her pleas backfired and she was banished, amid floods of tears, with nine votes. Elen believed "the universe wanted [her] to experience this amazing opportunity" but that she was ultimately way out of her depth and "too emotional".
Armani entered the show alongside her younger sister Maia, but after a tense round-table discussion in which she received the most votes, it was her sibling that helped to seal her fate by revealing that she didn't trust her. And to add fuel to the fire, fellow Traitor Minah also voted for her.
Before the series started, Armani said: "People get voted out at the round table or get killed off that are too quiet and equally for being too loud." But the self styled "lead" Traitor was soon called out over her "cockiness" and remaining Traitors Linda and Minah agreed that in her being "overconfident [she] has done herself over."
Before starting the series, Maia opined, "I can't just sit on that Round Table and not have an opinion." It was this approach that influenced the banishment of her sister Armani, when she declared she was "60 per cent" convinced her sibling was a Traitor. But when the axe fell upon her, it wasn't in retribution, more because, as apex Traitor Minah had it, "Wouldn't it be interesting getting rid of two sisters in one day?"
Alongside Fozia and Alexander, Jack volunteered to leave the train in episode one, jeopardising his future on the show. But the trio returned, now hanging in treetop cages. Each was invited to appeal to the wider group to be allowed back into the game, but following strong pitches from his companions, Jack's approach failed to capture hearts and minds. "I ain't a conflict-resolver, I'm a gardener from Yorkshire," was his opening salvo, culminating in a final limp cry of, "LET'S GET THIS MONEY! COME ON!" When Fozia and Alexander won the vote, Jack could only reflect, "This has been one big wake-up call to how brutal The Traitors can be." Last we saw, he was still dangling, somewhere in that forest.
Having been pursued as a Traitor almost from the very beginning, based on the theory his day job would be the perfect cover for someone with nefarious intent, Kasim knew his time was running out. In his final Round Table he rued that over the last few days the group had ostracised him, denying him the chance to get any foothold in the game. But, he left with a flourish, teasing the spurious theories that led to his exit: "And Joe, who'd have thought you'd have caught me based on a twinkle in the eye? On the first Round Table I was selected [long pause] ... to be [long pause] ... a [long pause] ... Faithful."
"I thought maybe... Tyler," said Freddie when pushed for a suspect by Leanne. And that seemed to be all it took to break up the show's dominant alliance of Tyler, Leanne, Leon and Livi. With the seed of doubt planted, Leanne and Leon led the accusations in the Round Table, the former putting it to Tyler that "sometimes I do look at you and I catch you doing, like, a smile to yourself." Before coming into the show, Tyler had erroneously predicted he'd fall in with the older players. "I can't trust younger people. I don't know what it is but I don't trust them." But, in the end, they didn't trust him.
Episode six ended on a dramatic cliffhanger thanks to a secret task by the Traitors. But earlier, they decided to murder Faithful Livi. She wasn't surprised: "I've had such a good time in here but I knew it was going to happen." Linda acknowledged she'd been close to Livi, but, as she told Minah, "I'm here to win."
Dan may have been playing his own "strategic game" - "I don't have to tell everyone every thought and action," he said in a bitter defence of himself on Friday night - but it meant he quickly lost the trust of the other contestants. Minah put on a particularly clever performance, declaring to Dan with tears in her eyes: "Regardless of what happens tonight, I cannot trust you." When he was revealed to be a Faithful, Claudia told the table: "You've shot yourselves in the foot."
Having been pitched into a "death match" card game against Alexander, Anna and Leon, Fozia found herself head-to-head with the latter in the final round. Alas for her, Leon turned over the "Life" card, securing his future in the game. In a twist on the format, The Traitors personally delivered the death notice to their prey - prompting a slightly testy moment as Fozia declared, "Linda I knew it was you... you're not going to last." And then, prophetically, "You're going next."
Jake had been on Linda's trail since the very first episode and her telling turn of the head when Claudia boomed, "Traitors!" "Huge respect to yourself," Jake said in the Round Table as he revealed her name on his voting slate, "but I just can't go against my gut feeling." And with the majority falling in with that point of view, the show's most theatrical Traitor was vanquished. Ever the actress, Linda - who described the experience as "the pinnacle of my life" - exited with a final flourish: "I am a f... TRAITOR!"