The ultimate top 10 list of iconic moments from The Traitors UK

Diane’s Funeral

If I had to choose a single episode that stands out in the show’s history, this would be it. Nothing short of cinematic excellence.

Season 2 reaches its peak the morning after Miles poisons Diane with a cursed chalice of sparkling rosé. Instead of meeting her expected demise, the Traitor walks into breakfast to see her alive and greets the room with a frantic, manic grin, saying “Hiiii!”

Ruby Naldrett – Twitter

What followed was a full-on funeral procession, complete with a haunting choir, a shrine to the murdered medium Tracey, and three contestants getting into coffins as everyone voted on whom they believed would be next to go. Poor Ross had to witness his own mother being ‘buried.’ Talk about dark humor.

Afterward, the Traitors clashed, with Paul and Miles trading heated barbs, while Harry cleverly suggested that both could be Traitors, a strategy that would come back to benefit him later.

Tom’s Girlfriend Revelation

The inaugural secret alliance formed by Tom and Alex was a clever but risky move, as they chose to conceal their romantic relationship to advance in the game.

However, everything unraveled when Tom lost his composure during breakfast after Alex faced accusations of being a Traitor, leading him to explosively declare to everyone that she was “straight up” his girlfriend, which instantly alienated him from the other contestants.

His supposed genius, bolstered by his background in magic, backfired spectacularly. As Amanda, the ‘Mother’ of the series, pointed out, he failed to detect a single Traitor in their midst.

Adding to the chaos, poor Matt thought he was flirting with a single Alex, when in fact, she was taken. During Tom’s meltdown, Maddy chimed in, asking, “I thought you were going to get with Alex?” You can’t make this stuff up! Bonus points for Claudia’s gigantic turtleneck.

Linda’s Underwhelming Strategy

It was no secret that Linda wasn’t the most cunning Traitor this season. Yet she managed to stick around week after week, despite her glaringly suspicious antics.

From her very selection, she chose to address Claudia when the Traitors were called, something that didn’t fly under Jake’s radar. She only threw accusations when others turned on her, showing no effort to pretend to be on the hunt for deceitful players.

When she voted for Anna, she offered the unforgettable excuse, “You don’t have to be a sailor to know how to tie a rope… sorry,” which is a ridiculously vague reason for banishment that the Faithful still failed to recognize.

Ironically, it took an Oscar-worthy performance of fake sobbing over Liv’s demise to finally draw everyone’s attention to her. Even then, it took a couple of nights for them to catch her. Stay iconic, Linda.

“…but Ross is”

The ultimate twist was delivered with finesse by Dianne in season 2, earning her two spots in this recap.

We saw some secret pairings in the house, some of which led to downfalls, while one remained hidden, only to be revealed to the audience.

In a talking head segment, Dianne giggled as others speculated about her relationship with Paul based on their similar hair colors—hers dyed, and his naturally red but much taller. She then drops the bombshell that her actual son is Ross, the revelation cleverly interspersed with true crime-style family photos of their covert conversations.

They sustained this ruse until the end, and unfortunately, Ross failed to avenge his murdered mother when he was reluctantly inducted as a Traitor by Harry and Andrew and sent into the fray.

Kieran’s Exit Gift

Regardless of your stance on Kieran’s methods (a topic still hotly debated among my friends), it marked one of the season one highlights and shifted the game entirely.

After double-crossing his fellow Traitors, Wilf was on the verge of claiming the prize pot for himself, having built trust with his allies. However, the rules required him to recruit someone, and he selected Kieran—planning to throw him under the bus like Alyssa and Amanda before him. Kieran had other ideas.

As he was voted out, he wrote “Wilfred” on a board and cursed him with the final words, “parting gift.”

In the end, the Faithful realized something was amiss and ultimately caught the last Traitor at the fire pit.

Charlotte’s Welsh Accent

This twist left the UK puzzled, asking, “But why?”

Charlotte, an original Faithful and now a Traitor, randomly decided to speak in a Welsh accent throughout the entire game.

She claimed it made her seem more trustworthy, and many contestants at the time deemed her their “100% Faithful”—though the actual role of her accent remains questionable. It was a shame we missed the big reveal at the final roundtable.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Maddy’s EastEnders Storyline

Maddy’s sleuthing abilities in season one often left something to be desired, yet her reasoning in the confessional segments was always entertaining.

Upon entering the castle, she kept her job as a receptionist a secret but eventually admitted she was also an actress, playing the role of a homeless woman on EastEnders.

Once this was known, the actual Welsh queen Amanda used it to undermine Maddy’s trustworthiness, leading to her eventual banishment.

Despite her seemingly airheaded personality, she was the only contestant who had Wilfred figured out from the start, so who really ended up on top?

Paul’s Demise

Although Paul didn’t last until the finale as a Traitor, he’s widely regarded as the show’s ultimate villain.

Prior to the competition, he openly admitted that he read American Psycho to prep for his role, and it certainly showed. He managed to manipulate nearly everyone, skillfully avoiding suspicion despite all the indicators pointing toward him.

While he seemed to fool everyone—except for Jaz (dubbed Jazatha Christie) and Harry, who remained undeterred by his tactics. Harry took matters into his own hands and spearheaded the effort against Paul, catching him off guard since Paul believed he was the primary Traitor. His removal from the game was celebrated, as infuriating as he was, he provided some of the best entertainment.

The Death Match

Nothing is quite as thrilling as an unexpected game in The Traitors. Following a chaotic day, where Claudia showed remarkable talent balancing on the shoulders of two large men in a stunning fur coat, contestants Alexander, Leon, Anna, and Fozia were forced to battle for their lives in darkness.

Each contestant took turns drawing cards, with only one life card in the deck, determining their fate.

The Death Match blended luck and deceit, all orchestrated by Claudia, adorned in her mesmerizing skeleton makeup. After allowing Anna to escape, Fozia picked fatal cards, and for the first time faced the Traitors who would execute her.

As Minah pronounced her doom, the funniest moment was Fozia’s oblivion about the situation. Upon accepting her fate, she whimsically cursed Linda—who replied with a cheeky, “get over it,” further solidifying her status as a fan favorite.

Harry’s Final Betrayal

For anyone looking to emulate a successful Traitor, Harry’s strategy for capturing the £95,000 prize in season 2 serves as a blueprint.

After exposing the treacherous Paul and maintaining his façade as a Faithful, pretending to secure the shield, Harry managed to go nearly unnoticed. Only Jazatha Christie had him figured out. Unfortunately for her, Harry kept his support group tight.

I’ll always remember the collective gasp from the nation as Mollie wrote down Harry’s name, only to erase it and write Jaz’s instead. She was deeply trusting of Harry and couldn’t fathom he would betray her.

The moment he declared his true nature over the roaring fire pit made it all the more painful and yet spectacular.