BBC The Traitors finalist praises 'fantastic' gesture by fans after missing out on prize money
The Traitors finalist Alexander Dragonetti has helped to boost Mencap donations by over £30,000 after he spoke about the charity's positive influence on his younger brother. Throughout his time on the show, the former British diplomat opened up about his late brother, who had global development delay and autism, and said he used to go to summer camps set up buy the organisation who support those with learning difficulties.
In an episode where contestants discussed their reasons for wanting to win the prize on the hit show, Alexander, said he would “love to put some money their way to keep it going". Even though Alexander didn't manage to win the show as the faithfuls turned on one another in the final, his story moved many of his fans to donate.
Speaking to Yahoo News about the £30,000 in donations that have been made to Mencap since the final, Alexander said: "That is fantastic. I am so grateful to anybody who's donated or felt moved to spread awareness about it. I know firsthand how challenging it can be for parents with children with special needs or siblings with brothers and sisters who have special needs or other relationships too.
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"And it’s such a challenging job. It's a full-time job, and it's very hard to advocate or to speak out as well." For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter
Alexander added that he hopes he will be able to use his new platform to continue raising awareness. He said: "And if I can play that role even a bit for families like that or with charities, then I'd be honoured to do that, and it would be one of the most powerful things that I could take out of this experience.
"I'm still figuring that out, to be honest. There's quite a lot of complexity to it, as you would imagine, it's not quite as easy as just sort of putting up a GoFundMe page or something. I wish it was that easy but it'll take a little time.
"I hope people are willing to bear with me while I figure that out but I would reiterate that it is probably the thing I feel most strongly about, as a cause in the world, because my brother was everything to me. And so if I can do anything to help other families."
Mencap's engagement lead Ciara Lawrence commented: "I’ve really loved this new series of Traitors. It’s been really exciting and I’ve been watching it right from the beginning, and obviously I’m really delighted and pleased that Alexander talked about his brother who had a learning disability and how he wanted to support Mencap."
"That was really brilliant, and he’s mentioned it in the media as well. And I’m delighted to say that since the final the money raised for Mencap is £31,000" and thanked Alexander, saying, "Thank you Alexander for being a brilliant role model for people like me (individuals with learning disabilities)."
Mary O’Hagan, executive director of fundraising at Mencap, expressed her deep appreciation for Alexander's contribution: "We are enormously grateful to Alexander for sharing his personal story about his brother, which has helped to raise awareness of people with a learning disability. "And we must give a heartfelt thank you to Alexander’s fans who have been so touched by his story that they have made generous donations to Mencap."
On Friday, project manager Jake Brown and former solider Leanne Quigley split a prize fund of £94,600 after winning the show together. Leanne, who is originally from Flintshire, said she would be spending some of her prize money on getting married to Sophie, her partner of six years.
To support Mencap's cause, donations can be made at www.mencap.co.uk.
