Kieran knew he was going to be banished on The Traitors (Picture: BBC)

It was the most thrilling climax of reality TV ever, with The Traitors’ finale stacked with Shakespearean levels of psychodrama and back-stabbing.

But as the nation is still digesting that shocking and exhilarating roundtable, fans of the BBC series, presented by Claudia Winkleman, have questioned whether there was foul play.

After four weeks of seeing the Faithfuls desperately try to ‘banish’ the Traitors, who in turn are ‘murdering’ contestants to get them off their case, five made it through to the final of the gripping programme.

Faithfuls Aaron Evans, Meryl Williams and Hannah Byczkowski were hoping to split the cash prize of £101, 050, while Traitors Wilfred Webster and new recruit Kieran Tompsett plotted to steal the jackpot from them.

However, Wilfred, who had previously turned on fellow Traitors Amanda Lovett and Alyssa Chan, went one step too far when he decided to throw Kieran to the wolves, planting seeds that he was the only remaining deceiver.

But Wilfred didn’t expect Kieran to see the writing on the wall and effectively fall on his sword when it came to the final banishment.

After being accused by the remaining contestants, Kieran didn’t try to defend himself but instead attempted to give the Faithfuls cryptic clues about Wilfred’s real identity.

In a now immortal line, Kieran said he was giving Hannah, Aaron and Meryl a ‘parting gift’ when he unveiled Wilfred’s name on his board, before going on to seriously eyeball his fellow Traitor.

Fans had accused Kieran of ‘cheating’ the game by heavily hinting Wilfred was a Traitor, particularly when the trio decided to follow the player’s advice and banish the 28-year-old at the final hurdle.

Wilfred did not look pleased when he had a taste of his own medicine (Picture: BBC)

One wrote: ‘How has Kieron been allowed to do that? Surely that’s actually cheating is it not? #TheTraitors,’ while another commented: ‘Is it just me who thought Kieran clearly cheated and went against game rules last night?’

Many others questioned whether the rules of the game had been broken and the ending ‘ruined’, while a viewer joked Wilfred should ‘sue’ the BBC over the ‘cheating’ in a trial that would rival Wagatha Christie.

To set the record straight, Metro.co.uk approached the BBC and production company Studio Lambert to find out whether Kieran did breach any rules.

Aaron, Meryl and Hannah each walked away with £33,000 after winning (Credits: PA)

The Line of Duty broadcaster dismissed any accusations of cheating, adding: ‘All contestants stuck to the rules of The Traitors across the series, at no point were any broken.’

So, there we have it. A fair win for the triumphant Faithfuls, Meryl, Aaron and Hannah, who equally split the £100k prize.

There’s also no bad blood between Kieran and Wilfred, with the charity fundraiser calling him his ‘saving grace.’

Fans hailed Kieran a ‘hero’ for his roundtable antics (Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Paul Chappells)

Wilfred told Metro.co.uk: ‘Kieran was my saving grace. I think if I had won, taking the money from Hannah, Meryl and Aaron, and I’m so close with them, I don’t think I could’ve been friends with them after.

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‘It would’ve been different and because I’m so close to them, that’s why I was so happy. I wasn’t even bothered. That’s when you realise, yeah it’s a great amount of money, but in my life I’ve always had a five-year plan to achieve what I want to achieve, so that money was just gonna make it happen a bit sooner. It wasn’t about the money, I made friends for life.’

Studio Lambert has also been contacted for comment.

The Traitors is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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