Nail-biting finale brings traitors to a dramatic end

WARNING: This article reveals consequences for traitors.

The third series of Traitors has been won after a nail-biting conclusion.

The finale saw loyalists Francesca Rowan-Plowen, Alexander Dragonetti, Leanne Quigley and Jake Brown go up against traitor Charlotte Berman.

After weeks of challenges, kills, roundtables and bangments, the final prize fund stood at £94,600 after the final challenge of the series.

Ex-soldier Leanne and project manager Jake were the final two and split the money after both were revealed to be loyal.

Leanne squeals and thanks Jake “for not letting me down”.

Jake said: “I feel like my body feels like it’s going to collapse but I’m just so happy.”

The final roundtable differed from previous years in that the players who were banished did not reveal whether or not they were a traitor as they had left.

This meant that the remaining contestants had to rely solely on their instincts to determine whether there were any traitors left in the game.

A late twist this year saw Francesca become “The Seer”, a power that enabled her to discover the true location of another contestant.

Unfortunately for Charlotte, the last remaining traitor, Francesca, chose her, and was able to find out that her teammate was not as loyal as she had assumed.

The finale comes after a phenomenally successful series for the BBC, which has been watched by an audience of over nine million, a figure which will increase as it captures more viewers.

This places this series above the previous two and makes Traitors one of the biggest hits currently on British television.

As in previous years, many of this year’s contestants attracted dedicated followings online as the series progressed, with Linda in particular being one of the breakout social media stars.

His joyous act inspired hundreds of GIFs and memes on social platforms in recent weeks.

Other stars of the series include the impressively cunning traitor Mina, the extremely polite Alexander, the intuitive Fozia and of course, the traitorous Charlotte and her fake Welsh accent.

The third season has a notably different narrative arc to the previous two.

In the first season, the three loyal contestants won after eliminating the last remaining traitor, Wilf, during the finale. In the second series, the original traitor Harry made it to the final, and won.

The third season is different in that none of the original traitors chosen in the first episode make it to the end.

The separate paths of each series shows that the show’s format has the potential to last for many more years, as each finale has kept audiences guessing and difficult to predict.

However, contestants are becoming increasingly aware of the way the show is produced, leading to speculation over decisions being made behind the scenes.

For example, one of this year’s loyalists, Ellen, correctly guessed in an early episode that there would be more female traitors this year after a male-heavy line-up last year.

As players become progressively more savvy, producers have to keep making changes to ensure that the show remains fresh and unpredictable while keeping players on their toes.

A celebrity edition of Traitors will air later this year, giving another new spin to the format. It has not yet been confirmed who will take part.