The Faithful win The Traitors – Aaron, Hannah and Meryl reveal how they feel

It is the series that has gripped the nation, launched countless WhatsApp groups discussing the latest antics taking place at Ardross castle and trended on Twitter for every episode.

Over the last four weeks and twelve episodes, 22 strangers have played the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

Now, after a series filled with more twists and turns than any other show in recent memory, the victorious final three – Aaron, Hannah and Meryl – will take home their share of the £101,050 prize pot.

After a final spectacular mission involving jumping out of helicopters, speedboats and wild boar it was The Faithful who managed to win this game.

Viewers were treated to the most dramatic round table to date as the other finalists turned on Kieran and banished him, but he left a parting clue for The Faithful by dramatically voting for fellow Traitor Wilfred. Kieran’s gameplay made the others suspect there was still a Traitor in their midst and around an emotionally-charged firepit they banished Wilfred from the game.

The first episode of The Traitors has now been viewed over 5 million times, and the show has grown week-on-week both in overnights and views on BBC iPlayer which are now at 15.3m and growing.

The full series is now available on BBC iPlayer.

HM

Aaron

How do you feel to have won The Traitors?

I think it still hasn’t sunk in yet, but when I go back home and get back to normal it will probably sink in.

What will you be doing with the prize money?

I think I’ve said this the whole way through, but I’ll be putting down a chunk of it for a deposit on my mum’s house.

What was the best part about being on the show?

Claudia Winkleman!!! Auntie Claude! She was always so fun to be around and always spurred us on to do the best that we possibly could. She kind of took a shine to us all!

How did you feel when you found out you had won?

Ecstatic. I didn’t really know how to feel at that point in time, but I think you can see by my reactions on the show, I was just overwhelmed. It was crazy.

What have you learnt about yourself from taking part in The Traitors?

That I can’t read people as well as I thought I could!

Who were your strongest allies on the show?

It was Amanda but, look where that got me. I had no idea she was Traitor – at all. She was like a mother figure to me and really took me under her wing. She was always there for me and kept me close, that was why she played the game so well. But, I had absolutely no idea she was a Traitor, I was so shocked. I had to change my direction after that and start to suspect other people.

Did you have a favourite challenge?

The helicopter challenge was by far the best, it was amazing. I wasn’t nervous, I was asking them to go higher!

Would you have done anything differently?

No way. I would have done everything exactly the same. The emotions, the tears running down my face – EVERYTHING.

Hannah

How do you feel to have won The Traitors?

Oh my God! I felt like a complete and utter intruder. Like someone had got it wrong. Like someone was going to turn round any second and say no, sorry we messed it up, it’s not you! It literally felt like someone in that moment had just said all my dreams had come true. It was like someone had said ‘okay, you can do whatever you want to do.’

What will you be doing with the prize money?

This prize is a life changing amount of money. It’s an opportunity many people will never have, and I feel so lucky and happy and just completely grateful to the whole process. And grateful to anyone that got me on there. And just full of love and happiness.

What was the best part about being on the show?

It was having such an insane experience that will never happen again. Kind of being allowed to stop life and play a game full time. At the time I went into the show I’d had a break-up and I remember thinking it’s all I think about and whilst it’s certainly not the saddest thing that’s happened to anyone, I just dealt with it quite badly. The show just really helped me realise that I shouldn’t be at home crying over a relationship when all this life is out there. And Claudia Winkleman is just the best person in telly. She’s so, so lovely and supportive. Everybody was lovely. The whole crew. Everyone was amazing. It was getting to do something I’d never done before and never will again probably.

What have you learnt about yourself from taking part in The Traitors?

I think I’ve learnt that I’m a lot more resilient. I think I’ve learnt that I’m quite reasonable, actually. I never thought I was, but I think I am. I obviously trust people too much. I won’t be trusting Wilf any time soon! I like that quality about myself, actually. In the end it didn’t matter if he was a Traitor or not. We built up a friendship and we’ve seen each other since quite a lot. So, yeah, I really feel now that I can do anything that I want to do.

Who were your strongest allies on the show?

The funny thing about it is if me and Wilf weren’t such good friends, I’m not sure I’d have lasted as long as I did. I think maybe he kind of did want us there with him because we all had a nice time. He probably thought I’ll keep them in and then maybe at the end I’ll take the money…although it didn’t quite work out that way! I think ironically if we hadn’t been such good friends, he would have got rid of me. I think my allies were Wilf, Meryl and Aaron. I think Theo as well was somebody that I felt I could really trust.

Did you have a favourite challenge?

Oh, the helicopter! Jumping out of a helicopter and watching all the crew members on the shore and just thinking WHAT AM I DOING?! And then thinking that camera is filming my double chin!!

Would you have done anything differently?

I’d have done nothing differently. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Meryl

How do you feel to have won The Traitors?

I think I might be the first person with my condition to win a reality show which I’m so delighted about. Overall, I can’t believe it. I still genuinely can’t believe it. I feel very grateful. I feel ecstatic. It feels very surreal. I never in a million years thought I was going to win the show. I never went in there to win the show. I went in there for new experiences, to meet everyone. I feel still pinch me about it!

What will you be doing with the prize money?

I might make a career change. I might do a little travel. I’d like to try doing new things. I feel like the money gives me a bit of a safety blanket to take some time out and try new things.

What was the best part about being on the show?

Probably the missions. When am I ever, ever going to do those again? The way things were organised, you’d never be able to experience that elsewhere – zipping along in a speedboat by Inverness, being in a helicopter, being on a big fairground wheel. All the things that we’ve done have been once-in-a-lifetime moments and I got to experience all of that in the safety and organisation of this amazing production. It’s just been such a fantastic experience. I couldn’t even pinpoint one mission. They’ve all been the best because they’ve all been things I’ve never done in my entire life. It’s just amazing.

How did you feel when you found out you had won?

Shocked. I was genuinely in shock. I think my knees fell to the floor when I found that Wilfred was a Traitor too! I was in shock with it all. I never expected to win so I never prepared myself for it. My brain was in overdrive. I just felt in complete and utter shock and it’s still now an utter ‘pinch me’ moment.

What have you learnt about yourself from taking part in The Traitors?

I’m more independent than I thought I was. A lot of the time, especially being at home, sometimes people will do things for me. When I was at The Traitors I realised how independent I was and how much I can actually do on my own without relying on other people because it was all down to me. I didn’t have the safety blanket of friends or family; it was me on my own. Also, I’ve not really been a competitive person, but I became a competitive person on the show! I’ve previously shied away from competition, but I found myself saying I want to try and do this, I want to win that. So, it’s definitely brought out both my competitive side and my independent side.

Who were your strongest allies on the show?

Well, I’d say my strongest friends were Hannah, Aaron, Wilfred and probably Alyssa.

Did you have a favourite challenge?

I would probably say the fairground ride because it was something that I never normally do. When am I ever going to have someone make a fairground ride adapted to me? It was literally adapted so I could go on it and that’s something that I’ve never had before. I’ve never had something literally personalised or customised to my height. I could have the exact same challenge and the exact same experience as everyone else.

Would you have done anything differently?

I’d probably not argue with Maddy as much! At the end of the day, I’m really happy with the outcome. In a way I wouldn’t want to change anything because it probably wouldn’t result in the same outcome. I was myself the whole way through and watching it back I’m proud that I was truly me the whole time.

Notes to Editors

The Traitors (12 x 60’) was commissioned by Kate Phillips in her previous capacity as Director of Entertainment Commissioning with development from Syeda Irtizaali as Portfolio Editor for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Neil McCallum, Commissioning Editor, Nations and Regions lead, Entertainment is the commissioning editor for the BBC.

The executive producers for Studio Lambert Scotland are Mike Cotton, Sarah Fay and Toni Ireland. The Traitors is a Studio Lambert Scotland production for BBC One. The original (Dutch) version was created by Marc Pos, developed by All3Media’s IDTV & RTL Creative Unit and produced by IDTV. Studio Lambert is part of the All3Media group. All3Media International is distributing the format worldwide and will sell the tape for both UK and US versions.

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