Seven reasons why the Traitors won

 It all began on New Year’s Day with 22 strangers arriving at Ardross Castle in the Scottish Highlands, via the traditional steam train and black Land Rover Defenders. It ended with two Traitors throwing the last of their rivals under a bus, before collapsing into a tearful cuddle.

In between came a red-cloaked secret Traitor, hidden relationships hinted at by a framed family tree, covert professions, surprise plot twists and shock showdowns. There was statement knitwear and squawking peacocks, all washed down with ginger shots, lamb shanks and lasagne. It added up to four weeks of addictive viewing which drew record ratings of 12 million and counting, while becoming the TV talking point of 2026 so far.

The fourth “civilian” series of The Traitors reached its killer climax with a nail-biting grand finale, where turret twosome Rachel Duffy and Stephen Libby emerged as victors to share the £95,750 prize pot. Let’s break down the seven pivotal factors which shaped their dramatic win and sealed the hapless Faithful’s defeat…

In the real world, thinking the best of people is a lovely quality. In The Traitors, it’s deadly. Sweet-natured, steadfast Jack Butler blindly put his trust in his pal Stephen, only realising his error when it was too late. “It’s so frustrating,” he said after being banished. “I’ve been totally played.”

Was he dazzled by the snappily dressed Scot’s jumpsuits, warm demeanour and affable charm? If so, Jack wasn’t the only one. While Rachel’s talent was strategic gameplay, Stephen’s was hiding in plain sight, making himself so popular that few could doubt him. Meanwhile, Jack was overly keen to forge friendships. He said James was his “best mate in here” and felt awful about voting for him. He fist-bumped Faraaz and swore allegiance. Jack was so Faithful, he suffered for it.

It was part of a pattern of the Faithful letting emotion cloud their judgement. Fiona Hughes lost the plot due to jealousy. Harriet Tyce got so righteously angry that she alienated her allies.  grew so close to people that she lost all perspective. Jade Scott admitted that persistent scrutiny caused her to “crack” and departed in tears. It all led to the Faithful playing with their hearts, not their heads.

 With Stephen running interference, Rachel gave a masterclass in deception during the final. Even when she was on the ropes, Rachel kept a calm head, tackled suspicion head-on and worked those castle corridors like a skilled spin doctor. Both her high-powered job in strategic communications and that infamous “FBI training” proved invaluable preparation as she played off the Faithful against each other.

As the net closed, she slowly and subtly nudged the Faithfuls off the scent. Her late stroke of genius was to convince Faraaz that he’d got it wrong about her, regain his trust and engineer him to vote for Stephen in the endgame. At first, this looked like a betrayal but it was actually a risky piece of human chess. Knowing that Jack would vote for her, she successfully split the Faithful vote. Her and Stephen’s combined vote was enough to eliminate Faraaz, effectively guaranteeing a Traitor win. Ruthless Rach was always several steps ahead.