The Traitors finalists on the ultimate betrayal: ‘I trusted the wrong person’

Published

1 year ago

January 27, 2024

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Spoiler alert: This article contains details of the final of the second series of The Traitors. You have been warned.

Judas level treachery, the advent of Jazatha Christie, and death by fizzy rosé – this series of The Traitors has had it all.

After 12 episodes, the nail-biting finale saw baby-faced British army engineer turned arch-manipulator Harry winning the entire prize pot of almost £100,000 – leaving faithful Mollie, his closest friend in the group, with nothing.

Viewers of the hit show have watched Harry, 22, play a near perfect game throughout the series, fooling almost everyone while quietly “murdering” the faithfuls one by one, and hanging his fellow traitors out to dry when the heat was on.

Such was the secrecy surrounding the ending that all the contestants – bar the final three – were kept in the dark about the result; they watched the finale together, finding out the outcome at the same time as viewers.

Speaking after the big reveal, Harry admitted he did feel guilty, despite making the daily betrayal seem effortless.

“I feel like everyone deserved the chance of that money,” he said. “And I was the reason none of them got it… so I was sort of hard on myself, but then it was the game and I was like, if the shoe was on the other foot, they would do the same to me.”

‘It makes you feel you’re about to do something naughty’

After telling host Claudia Winkleman at the start that he wanted to be a traitor, Harry said he initially regretted it as he waited to see whether or not he would get the shoulder squeeze inviting him to the dark side.

“I was like, oh my gosh, what have I done? I didn’t want to be tapped. Because of the pressure… how am I going to lie to everyone’s face and keep a poker face? Then as soon as she tapped me, I sort of was like, okay, cool, I’ve got a job to do now, let’s get it done.”

And putting on his traitors cloak each night was a highlight of the game.

“It just makes you feel like you’re about to do something naughty. Every time I put it on I was like, now I feel evil.”

Harry has been applauded for his Machiavellian game play on the BBC show – but how do his family feel about seeing this side to him?

“My mum calls me the dumbest, smartest person she’s ever met,” he said. “They laugh and joke about not being able to ever trust me again, but they know that I would do anything for them.”

Five contestants – faithfuls Evie, Jaz and Mollie, and traitors Harry and Andrew – made it through to the final. Evie and Andrew were banished – leaving Jaz convinced of Harry’s guilt, but Mollie desperate to believe his innocence.

The dramatic last vote saw Mollie, 21, initially picking Harry as a traitor – a move which would have seen the prize pot split between her and Jaz – before changing her mind at the last minute.

Viewers saw her swear and storm out of the room after it was revealed she had been lied to by her friend.

“My head was scrambled in that moment,” she said, adding that her friendship with Harry “took over for me and I just couldn’t do it to him”, even though there was a niggling doubt.

Throughout the series, the bond between the pair, who were two of the younger contestants, was evident.

“It hurt in the moment,” she said, addressing his betrayal. “I was upset but it was a game… you know that you’re going to have people that betray you in there, you can’t hold a grudge.”

‘He had me totally fooled’

Despite saying before the final reveal that she would never speak to him again should he turn out to be a traitor, there is “no beef” between Mollie and Harry now.

“Watching it back, you can see what a good game he played. He had me totally fooled. I think he had a lot of people fooled in there.”

Away from family and friends and with so much at stake, emotions are high. “Being away from your support system, you do have to trust someone,” Mollie said. “I obviously chose the wrong person to trust in there.”

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Andrew, who was initially a faithful but found himself recruited to the traitors halfway through the series, found it tough – and worried about “disappointing” his mum.

“I struggled with it,” the 45-year-old said. “I knew it was a game, a very intense game, a different game, but even then I still found it hard… every time I was accusing people and I knew they were telling the truth… my insides were turning like a washing machine.”

He also had to contend with a wardrobe malfunction. “It’s a good quality cloak and I struggled because it is quite long… I kept tripping over it at the start. So getting used to wearing it was quite difficult, the first day or so. I think they actually adjusted it, they got it altered for me then after the first night.”

‘I didn’t know who Agatha Christie was’

Perhaps the only person who had Harry sussed was Jaz, now christened Jazatha Christie on social media thanks to his canny detective work.

“I didn’t know who Agatha Christie was,” he said. “I had to Google that person.”

On Harry’s game play, Jaz added: “He started to get everything right. The guy was making no mistakes and I thought, your card’s marked, I’m coming for you. But when the time is right.”

Sadly, his instincts weren’t enough to secure a faithfuls victory. But Evie says there are no hard feelings towards Harry.

“We love him,” the 29-year-old said. “I’m like equal parts proud and equal parts annoyed. It’s so difficult to watch yourself be played like that but he did amazing. Hats off to him. If I was in his position I would want to play the game like he did.”

Entertainment

Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Published

2 days ago

April 5, 2025

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Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia talked about modern masculinity before Gen Z was born

Despite The Who’s Quadrophenia being set over 60 years ago, Pete Townshend’s themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

The album is having a renaissance as Pete Townshend’s Quadrophenia A Mod ballet is being brought to life via dance at Sadler’s Wells East, and Sky News has an exclusive first look.

As Townshend puts it, the album he wrote is “perfect” for the stage.

“My wife Rachel did the orchestration for me, and as soon as I heard it I said to her it would make a fabulous ballet and we never really let that go,” he tells Sky News.

“Heavy percussion, concussive sequences. They’re explosive moments. They’re also romantic movement moments.”

If you identify with the demographics of Millennial, Gen Y or Gen Z, you might not be familiar with The Who and Mod culture.

But in post-war Britain the Mods were a cultural phenomenon characterised by fashion, music, and of course, scooters. The young rebels were seen as a counter-culture to the establishment and The Who, with Roger Daltry’s lead vocals and Pete Townshend’s writing, were the soundtrack.

Quadrophenia the album is widely regarded as an essay on the British adolescent experience at the time, focusing on the life of fictional protagonist Jimmy – a young Mod struggling with his sanity, self-doubt, and alienation. 

Townshend sets the rock opera in 1965 but thinks its themes of identity, mental health, and modern masculinity are just as relevant today.

He says: “The phobias and the restrictions and the unwritten laws about how young men should behave. The ground that they broke, that we broke because I was a part of it.

“Men were letting go of [the] wartime-related, uniform-related stance that if I wear this kind of outfit it makes me look like a man.”

This struggle of modern masculinity and identity appears to be echoing today as manosphere influencers like Andrew Tate, incel culture, and Netflix’s Adolescence make headlines.

For dancer Paris Fitzpatrick, who takes on the lead role of Jimmy, the story resonates.

“I think there’s a connection massively and I think there may even be a little more revival in some way,” he tells Sky News.

“I love that myself. I love non-conforming to gender norms and typical masculinity; I think it’s great to challenge things.”

Despite the album being written before he was born, the dancer says he was familiar with the genre already.

“I actually did an art GCSE project about Mods and rockers and Quadrophenia,” he says.

“I think we’ll be able to bring it to new audiences and hopefully, maybe people will be inspired to to learn more about their music and the whole cultural movement of the early 60s.”

In 1979, the album was adapted into a film directed by Franc Roddam starring Ray Winstone and Sting but Townshend admits because the film missed key points he is “not a big fan”.

“What it turned out to be in the movie was a story about culture, about social scenario and less about really the specifics of mental illness and how that affects young people,” he adds, also complimenting Roddam’s writing for the film.

Perhaps a testament to Pete Townshend’s creativity, Quadrophenia started as an album, was successfully adapted to film and now it will hit the stage as a contemporary ballet.

It appears that over six decades later Mod culture is still cool and their issues still relatable.

Quadrophenia, a Mod Ballet will tour to Plymouth Theatre Royal from 28 May to 1 June 2025, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from 10 to 14 June 2025 and the Mayflower, Southampton from 18 to 21 June 2025 before having its official opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London on 24 June running to 13 July 2025 and then visiting The Lowry, Salford from 15 to 19 July 2025.

Entertainment

Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

2 days ago

April 4, 2025

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Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

Entertainment

Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

Published

3 days ago

April 3, 2025

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.