'I won The Traitors Season 1 and there's one way contestants can cheat the game'
BBC's cut-throat reality contest The Traitors is back on screens for a third season, with a new crop of Faithfuls and Traitors vying for a prize pot of up to £120,000.
As viewers prepare for their latest instalment tonight (January 8), a season one winner has revealed some behind-the-scenes secrets from her time on the show, including one way contestants could potentially cheat the game.
Meryl Williams won the first UK series as a Faithful alongside Aaron Evans and Hannah Byczkowski. The trio each took home a share of £101,050 which they saved from the clutches of the show's last Traitor standing, Wilfred Webster, in a dramatic finale.
In conversation with Betway, Meryl revealed part of the Traitors experience that viewers don't get to see that could offer an unfair advantage to some in the game, and it all centres around toilet breaks.
In the latest season, viewers have seen two sisters, Maia and Armani, join the game. Maia is playing as a Faithful while Traitor Armani became the latest to be banished at the Round Table.
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Having family in the game is nothing new, as in the second season viewers were stunned after the late reveal that there was a mother and son duo, Diane and Ross, competing in the game. The reveal came only to viewers after speculation among the contestants that Diane could be related to fellow player Paul. In a confession to the cameras, Diane came out with a line now enshrined in Traitors history, saying: "Paul just couldn't be my son, but Ross is."
While surprise relationships keep viewers on their toes, Meryl explained the potential pitfalls of having two contestants with a strong bond competing.
"That is something that I always wondered about, because obviously there was a mother and her son in season two and sisters in season three," she began. "I highly doubt they didn’t tell each other that they were Traitors (or Faithfuls). There would be opportunities to whisper together or even chat quickly in the toilet.”
Despite toilet breaks providing a secret meeting place for players, Meryl admitted that producers kept off-screen chats to a minimum.
"They want to try and keep everything for the camera. They don’t want to miss any crucial parts or important conversations," she shared. "In this season they are showing a bit more, like over meal times. For us, this was our time off in a sense as we would know there were no cameras on us. People would ask, ‘Is it you, is it you?’ and I’d continue eating my dinner and say that I’d talk to them after.
“You weren’t allowed to talk to the other contestants after filming. Obviously if someone was to make a breakthrough or thought they had figured it out, they wanted that to be filmed. All interactions were on camera. Minus at food times - these were the only times you weren’t being filmed. But as I say, I think that’s changed a little now and even more parts of their days are filmed.”
The Traitors continues tonight on BBC One at 9pm
