Is The Traitors' dishy diplomat back?
We can’t lie, we felt a little deflated after the first episode of addictive reality show, The Traitors, aired. Not because we had a full 24 hours to wait till our next fix of Claudia Winkleman and her aspirational winter wardrobe, but because our main eye candy – Alexander, the diplomat – had fallen on his sword and left the competition.
In an unexpected twist, the 25 contestants bound for Scotland were given a fiendish ultimatum by Claudia: they had ten minutes to pick three people to prematurely end their experience and disembark from the train, with the £10K bonus diminishing a thousand pounds per minute as they deliberated! The exercise offered an interesting insight into the group dynamics and individuals’ game plans (some kept schtum, flying under the radar, while others point blank refused to leave), plus saw diplomat Alexander offering himself up as a sacrificial lamb – and we were furious.
But luckily for us, it seems the TV gods were listening to our laments, as at the end of Friday’s episode we saw a glimpse of a horse and carriage with “rail replacement” on it, suggesting that Alexander and co might be back!
Who is Alexander in The Traitors S3?
38 year old Alexander has led a life of public service with his CV listing secondary school teacher, diplomat and civil servant among his occupations. While he’s lived in many different countries over the years, he now resides in London and enjoys exploring the city’s sights and history, recently visiting all 15 of London’s disused underground stations. Niche.
Why could Alexander do well on The Traitors S3?
As a diplomat Alexander is trained to read and win people over and stay calm in pressurised situations – all valuable skills for a potential Traitor/Faithful to have. “I’d like to think I have an ability to get on with a wide range of people. I've lived around the world, working with everyone from victims of attacks or natural disasters, local tribes, schoolchildren, politicians and briefly royalty. I’m meant to build relationships for a living, so I’d like to think I have a good radar for who I can trust!” he says.
Having watched the previous two series, Alexander has realised that the people who do well are those who pretend not to be smart as they are (hello Harry Clark!) and those who aren’t as suspicious of others, get close to Traitors and, as a result, remain in the competition (Mollie Pearce, we’re looking at you). He plans to bring warmth and humour and be a good team player: “I am good at corralling people and bringing them together”. However, his tendency to show his emotions might be his downfall. “I think I can be leaky with my emotions and that worries me, I wish I wasn’t. I think I'd find it stressful to lie because I don't generally,” he admits.
As for the £120K cash prize, Alexander would put the money to good use donating part of it to The Royal Mencap Society, which sends special needs kids on holiday, giving their parents’ respite – a service Alexander’s parents and brother have used. He’s also buy a flat.
Who else might return to The Traitors S3?
There are only two other contestants who might be on the horse and carriage and that’s Fozia and Jack.
Strategic thinker Fozia is a 50 year old community development manager from Birmingham who says that appearing on The Traitors has been on her bucket list. While she needs to work on her poker face, she’s good at detecting anyone who is two faced having “met a few snakes” in her time. If she won, she would spend the money on a new set of veneers (“my niece is calling me Nanny McPhee”), set funds aside for her kids’ weddings, and pay off her mortgage so she can retire early.
Meanwhile 25 year old market trader and landscaper Jack from Yorkshire is a secretly trained actor who plans to “play it a little bit dumb”. A naturally trusting person, he’s not confident in his ability to play mind games but thinks the missions will be his saving grace, as his job keeps him fit so he can hopefully win a lot of money and stay in everyone’s good favour. If he is the last man standing and goes him with the cash he will buy a small plot of land and help his parents fulfil their dream of having a small holding.
When is The Traitors S3 on TV?
The Traitors airs on BBC1 every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through January.
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