Another Traitor has finally been banished, and we still can’t believe it’s happened.
We’re more than halfway through Claudia Winkleman’s murder mystery gameshow, and after a handful of Faithfuls voicing their suspicions, and some seriously questionable acting moments, it was one Traitor’s time to go.
‘The Faithful have struck gold,’ the BBC host said, after it was revealed that Linda Rands was banished from the game.
From her Oscar-worthy tears over fellow contestant Livi’s ‘murder’, to some of her iconic lines including a ‘get over it’ dig at ‘murdered’ contestant Fozia Fazil, Linda’s downfall had been predicted by several BBC viewers.
But there was one scene in today’s episode that they think foreshadowed the result of the roundtable.
At the breakfast table, Linda and fellow Traitor Minah Shannon were the first to enter the room, where they agreed that if needed they could turn on each other.
‘There was a bit of heat on you yesterday,’ Minah, 29, told retired opera singer Linda.
Join Metro’s The Traitors community on WhatsApp
Want to get all the latest news and predictions for the best and most dramatic show this new year? Join our The Traitors WhatsApp channel for live episode coverage, behind-the-scenes gossip and a place to recover from all the cliffhangers.
Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don’t forget to turn on notifications!
‘If I’m really honest with you, I’m scared that if I overly defend you, because we haven’t spent that much time together,’ she went on.
Sacrificing herself, Linda replied: ‘If it comes to it and it’s going to go that way, just vote for me.’
‘I won’t hold it against you, and you go to the end, baby.’
She added to the camera: ‘We are a sisterhood, through thick and thin.’
As soon as the discussion took place, viewers were convinced it was Linda’s time to go, and that Minah would aid to her downfall.
‘The edit is screaming a Linda banishment tonight,’ viewer Dylan wrote on X, immediately after that scene aired.
‘Oh my god THAT EDIT,’ @MrsGMusicTeach wrote.
And Minah did end up turning on her fellow Traitor, as Linda failed to defend herself against the Faithful and her name was brought up again and again.
Revealing her true identity, Linda told the other players: ‘Guys, I’ve had the most amazing time, this has been the pinnacle of my life and to experience this at my age and get this far, I’ve had a whale of a time, so thanks for it!
‘I am a Traitor.’
The ‘BBC edit’ wasn’t the only thing to have predicted Linda’s banishment, after Fozia delivered some brutal parting words after her own ‘murder’.
‘You’re not going to last, get a good night’s sleep tonight because you’re going next,’ she hit out.
In response, Linda blisteringly replied: ‘Get over it.’
But it was an earlier moment in the game that viewers think gave Linda’s game away.
Though the other players didn’t notice it, Linda made a potentially catastrophic error when she, as a Traitor, wrote down four possible victims of the next ‘murder’.
The national treasure wrote her ‘z’ in a unique way on a small painting as she etched Fozia’s name into a gravestone, with several viewers pointing out that she wrote it in the same way around the roundtable.
Though no one else may have noticed, in tonight’s episode, Linda changed her style of writing, using capital letters to vote Alexander out in banishment.
Unfortunately, it didn’t matter whose name was on her chalkboard, as she lost out on her place in the game anyway, with the only remaining Traitor Minah now left attempting to recruit fake-Welsh Faithful Charlotte Berman to join her on the dark side.
Following her exit, Linda admitted she ‘didn’t really have a strategy’, and ‘started to panic’ when the Traitors were being chosen by Claudia.
‘When Claudia was going around the table I started to panic, thinking no I don’t want to be one, don’t choose me! Once I got over it, I absolutely loved it,’ she said.
She went on: ‘I didn’t really have a strategy, I think it was just to not let people know I was a Traitor.’
She continued: ‘I played the jokey person more, and that did work, and I am a bit of an air head so that came over as well, and in fact when I left, that was one of the things that they mentioned.
‘They said you’re so random in what you do and that’s why we think you’re a Traitor. If you ask anyone in my family, they’d say that’s me, that’s who I am, I’m very random! So, it was really funny they picked up on that.’
Talking about her time in the game coming to an end, she said: ‘I’m really proud that I wasn’t the first Traitor who left. I’m proud that I made it that far because I seriously thought I’d go out pretty quickly. I was told I got as far as Paul [Gorton] did in the last series and I never thought I’d get that far.’
‘I’ve realised I’m not as good a liar as I thought I was!’ she added.
Viewers are of course gutted that Linda was banished, with fan account SuperTV writing on X: ‘Gone but never forgotten. Our Oscar winning, BAFTA winning, National Television Award winning Linda. The worlds best traitor that there ever has been.’
‘Diva Down!!! It just won’t be the same without Mother Linda,’ viewer Maire wrote.
‘I need a 48 hour mourning period from work until the weekend it’s what AR Linda would have wanted,’ Jazzi said.
‘Absolutely devastated about Linda,’ @lifelongstyles said, while Jack urged: ‘Linda needs to represent us at Eurovision.’
The Traitors continues tomorrow night at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
The Traitors viewers spot moment BBC edit revealed huge result