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

Published

4 months 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

GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

Published

2 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.

Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.

GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.

The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.

Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.

The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.

These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.

It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.

“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.

The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.

“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.

“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.

It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.

Entertainment

P Diddy: Rapper Sean Combs says video of him assaulting singer Cassie is ‘inexcusable’

Published

20 hours ago

May 19, 2024

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P Diddy: Rapper Sean Combs says video of him assaulting singer Cassie is 'inexcusable'

Sean “Diddy” Combs has said CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie in a hotel hallway in 2016 is “inexcusable” and that he is “disgusted”.

Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” the rapper said in a video on Instagram.

“I was f***** up – I mean I hit rock bottom – but l make no excuses. My behaviour on that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.

“I went and I sought out professional help. I got into going to therapy, going to rehab. I had to ask God for his mercy and grace. I’m so sorry. But I’m committed to be a better man each and every day. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m truly sorry.”

The 54-year-old, whose homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents in March, has faced a series of public allegations of physical and sexual violence.

Footage obtained by CNN this week shows Combs – also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy – wearing only a white towel as he punches and kicks Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway on 5 March 2016.

The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging Cassie and throwing a vase in her direction.

Cassie, an R&B singer whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.

The 37-year-old sued Combs in November with the lawsuit accusing him of rape and violent behaviour during their decade-long relationship.

The suit was settled the next day, but it lead to intense scrutiny of Combs, who has since been named as a defendant in several sexual abuse lawsuits, along with a federal criminal sex-trafficking investigation that led authorities to the raid in March.

He denied the allegations in the lawsuits, but neither he nor his representatives had responded to the newly emerged video until Sunday.

After the footage emerged, Douglas H Wigdor, lawyer for Ms Ventura, said in a statement in response: “The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behaviour of Mr Combs.

“Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

Combs’ Instagram apology is the hip-hop mogul’s most direct response after six months of allegations that have threatened his reputation and career.

Previous statements have been released through his lawyers.

The security camera video, dated 5 March 2016, closely resembles the description of an incident at an InterContinental Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles described in Ms Ventura’s November lawsuit.

The suit alleges that Combs paid the hotel $50,000 (around £39,000) for the security video immediately after the incident.

Neither he or his representatives have addressed that specific allegation.

CNN did not say how it obtained the footage.

Combs is not in danger of being criminally prosecuted for the beating.

The statutes of limitations for the assault and battery charges he would be likely to face expired years ago.

Entertainment

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice denies claims of ‘abusive or threatening behaviour’ on show

Published

1 day ago

May 19, 2024

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Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice denies claims of 'abusive or threatening behaviour' on show

Strictly Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice has rejected allegations that he displayed “abusive or threatening behaviour” while working as a professional dancer on the show.

The 33-year-old Italian dancer said he was “surprised” amid reports the BBC is looking into complaints about his conduct.

A legal firm acting on behalf of the complainants said the broadcaster is “evidence gathering” – but the BBC has not confirmed that any probe has been launched.

In the statement shared on Instagram, Pernice wrote: “To my dear fans, you will be as surprised as I am that allegations have been made about my dance teaching methods in the media this week.

“Of course, I reject any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour, and I look forward to clearing my name.”

He added: “Those who have followed my journey on Strictly Come Dancing over the last decade will know that I am passionate and competitive.

“No one is more ambitious for my dance partners than me.

“I have always striven to help them be the very best dancers they can be.

“This has always come from a place of love and wanting to win – for me and my dance partners.”

Pernice signed off the message by writing: “Thank you all once again for your continued love and support! Giovanni.”

A statement from law firm Carter-Ruck to the PA news agency said: “There have been numerous serious complaints made to the BBC who are now in the process of evidence gathering.

“As it is still an ongoing matter no further comment can be made at this stage.”

The Sun, which first reported suggestions that an investigation was underway, also claimed Pernice had quit the show.

Neither the BBC nor Pernice has confirmed his departure.

Sicily-born Pernice has been on the BBC One celebrity dancing show since 2015.

In 2021, he lifted the Strictly glitterball trophy for the first time alongside EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis, who was the first deaf contestant to win. He had appeared in three show finals previously.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for most jive kick and flicks in 30 seconds, which he achieved on the BBC’s Strictly It Takes Two show in 2016.

The BBC was approached by Sky News but declined to comment.