BBC The Traitors fans left 'speechless' as show airs biggest cliffhanger
BBC The Traitors fans have been left "speechless" as show aired its biggest cliffhanger. The 11th and penultimate episode saw interior designer Francesca was about to find out the true identity of a fellow player in a highly intense moment.
Described as the "cliffhanger of all cliffhangers" on the visual podcast The Traitors: Uncloaked soon after the episode concluded, fans got to see Francesca select Charlotte as her chosen player to find out if she was a Faithful or Traitor, before the two sat down for a face-to-face meeting. But before we could see how their conversation unfolded, the scene was cut to credit.
It had been an all-round exciting episode of The Traitor, which was aired on Thursday evening (January 23), after Traitors Charlotte and Freddie chose to 'murder' Leanne in the last episode. However, little did Freddie know that Charlotte was fully aware that Leanne had a shield from the 10th episode's mission, meaning she would be protected against any 'murder' attempts.
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The former army officer confided in Jake, Francesca and Charlotte about the shield. And so the 11th episode started with a shock for Freddie as he saw Leanne walk into the breakfast show, slowly realising that Charlotte had plotted against him.
Tensions began to build as Leanne accused both Freddie and Alexander of trying to 'murder' her - the only two out of the players who were unaware of her shield. Later on in the episode, the players' mission saw them take on a series of challenges.
As host Claudia Winkleman explained, whoever collected the most money would win a powerful position and become a 'seer' - someone who would be able to select another player and find out if they were really a Faithful or a Traitor. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
During the last challenge of the mission, Alexander gave Francesca his money, with the hopes that Francesca would win and become a 'seer' on behalf of the faithfuls. Following an intense roundtable, which saw Freddie be banished from the castle as a Traitor, it was revealed that Francesca had collected the most money for the prize pot and therefore was the 'seer'.
Francesca was then led to a secret chamber in the castle, and after much deliberation, she decided to go for the unlikeliest choice, her good friend Charlotte. When discussing choosing Charlotte, Francesca said: "Charlotte, I could bring her in as an affirmation of a Faithful."
In her confessional, Francesca added: "My gut is so twisted. Do I go and pick someone who I feel more confident is a Faithful, like Charlotte, and become an alliance, or do I invite Alexander? Why did he give me those coins? This is tough." She later added: "My gut is that I need to clear up the people close to me".
She continued: "I don't want to have wasted this power. In my heart, I hope she is a Faithful. Then I can take a sigh of relief that I know that one person is 100% Faithful and it was the person I always thought it was."
The business director from London has adopted a fake Welsh accent from the beginning of the series, but became a Traitor in the seventh episode. Since becoming a Traitor, Charlotte has seen and contributed to the banishment of two of her fellow Traitors - Minah and Freddie.
As Claudia revealed that Francesca had selected Charlotte as her chosen player, she was seemingly quite shocked. In her confessional, Charlotte said: "My mind is just whirring, like, where do I go from here? How does this play out? I feel very pinned in a corner, but I guess that's the game. I'm the last Traitor standing. Everything is at stake. It is literally her word against mine."
Many took to social media to share their response to the explosive conclusion to the penultimate episode. On X, formerly known as Twitter, one fan said: "Praying for Frankie and Alexander to take it all the way and win the whole thing". Another said: "Will Charlotte let her Welsh slip? Will Frankie tell the others? Will Alexander and Leanne become besties an win? I think so."
Another viewer described they were "speechless", while another said: "Why would Francesca throw Charlotte under the bus if she really was a faithful. Unless Charlotte can spin it that Francesca is the Traitor and its a set-up?". But fans will have to wait and see the outcome of Francesca and Charlotte's conversation in Friday evening's episode, January 24, which will be the final episode of the third series.
The Traitors continues on BBC One this week at 9pm. You can catch up with the full series on iPlayer.
