The Traitors 2026: Meet the contestants, from a former detective to a bestselling crime writer

BBC One’s stratospheric hit The Traitors is back for four weeks of deception and backstabbing, keeping us entertained and screaming at the TV through the long January nights.

Fresh from leaving Strictly after more than a decade as its co-host, Claudia Winkleman is once again presenting the ultimate reality game of trust and treachery, with new twists and 22 new players.

The 2026 season arrives just a couple of months after the first ever UK celebrity edition, which saw Traitor Alan Carr win the game against all odds.

Meet the contestants hoping to follow in his footsteps below, from a bestselling crime writer and psychologist to a retired police detective.

Adam

The 34-year-old builder from Essex says he’s “a very outspoken, dramatic sort of person” with “no filter”. He has studied body language so is confident no one will be able to tell if he’s lying, but he will be able to spot those who are. “I understand how people stand, what they do with their hands, their ticks, their eye movements, even the way their ears move!” If he wins the prize money, he wants to take his family to Florida and put the rest in the bank.

Amanda

As a retired police detective, 57-year-old Amanda from Brighton is hoping to put her sleuthing skills to good use. “I’ve done lots of interviews with criminals and victims,” she says. “You have to put the pieces together to find the truth and see through the lies.” Amanda reckons she’ll be a strong player because she’s both “fun” and good at holding her nerve: “I’ve been in some really tricky situations in my time and I have a strong sense of perspective. You’ve got to remember, it’s a game.” In terms of what she’d spend the winnings on, Amanda says: “My brother passed away in 2011 from a disease called pulmonary hypertension. So, I would like to donate a percentage to that charity.” She’d also like to take her mum and sisters on holiday.

Ben

The 66-year-old from Hampshire wants to bring his skill set from his time serving in the forces to the game. He is very competitive playing games at home with his family, saying: “I play with grandchildren, step grandchildren, and nobody’s allowed to win. I’m the only person allowed to win. I play to win. I don’t play to come second.” If he wins this game, he’d like to learn how to fly and take his wife on the honeymoon she never had. He says: “When we got married, I got posted to Saudi Arabia and so she organised the wedding and I flew back to the UK, got married, and then flew back out, so I would love to give her that dream honeymoon. And then I’d obviously treat the family.”

Ellie

Ellie, 33, is the first psychologist to compete on the show – and while she’ll be using her skills to play the game, she won’t be telling anyone what her job is. “I’m going to be analysing what other contestants are doing and trying to think through what their motivations are for behaving in certain ways,” she says. “I am also going to be hiding my occupation as I don’t want people to make assumptions about me.” If she wins the game, she is going to put the money towards buying her first flat in London.

Faraaz

Internal auditor Faraaz, 22, is from Middlesborough. He has been a huge fan of the show since series one, and he thinks it’s important “not to be too boisterous” and “keep some opinions and some cards close to your chest at the beginning”. He says: “If I win the prize money, I’d love to be able to spend it on me and my family to make a religious pilgrimage. To go to Umrah, to go to Hajj, would be really nice… If there’s a bit of left over, I wouldn’t mind putting a bit away for a new car.”

Fiona

The 62-year-old local government officer from Swansea applied to be on The Traitors because she believes it’s “the most authentic reality TV show”. She thinks she’ll be a strong player because “I’m a trustworthy person, and people naturally warm to that”. The prize money, if she wins it, “will definitely go towards some of my pension”, she says, as well as to people who are caring for loved ones with dementia at home and don’t have the benefit of a large family.

Harriet

Bestselling crime writer and former barrister Harriet, 52, is from London. “I spend my life making up horrible ways for people to die and killing people on the page,” the Blood Orange author says. “The idea that I might get to actually plot to kill people or to track down a murderer, but, you know, without actual blood being shed, it’s the closest that I’d get to that experience in real life. So quite honestly, what’s not to like?” She wants to play down her career history, and dial up the “housewife” and “mother” side of herself. Harriet will donate her prize money, if she wins, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, after one of her best friends died in 2021 from secondary breast cancer.

Hugo

Barrister Hugo, 51, is a Cardiff-born Londoner who is “obsessed” with the show and has seen every episode in the English language – UK, US, Australia and New Zealand. “It’s such a fascinating game,” he says, “and what really gets me is watching people around the Round Table and how wrong they get it. I’m a barrister so I talk to juries, but they go off and make the decisions in a quiet room so I never get to see it, but this, you just think, how could you be so wrong? I can’t take my eyes off it, I love it.” He says he will donate the prize money, if he wins it, to Amnesty International, “a human rights charity that’s very dear to my heart”.

Jack

The 29-year-old personal trainer from Essex says of his fellow contestants: “I think all of them will probably underestimate me. I’m going to play on the stereotype of being the PT from Essex.” He says he wants to win so he can use the prize money for a deposit for a property for him and his girlfriend. “It would be life changing for us. I’d love if we could get our first property somewhere where I could have a purpose-built gym studio in the back of the garden and have that all kitted out and do my training sessions there at our new home.”

Jade

Jade is a 25-year-old PhD student from the West Midlands, but she’s not going to be entirely honest about that. “I think I’ll play everything that I do down a bit,” she says. “I’m going to say that I am a master’s student, rather than a PhD because this is my whole life. I can’t go in there and make up a whole new background as that’s too much effort to keep up.” If she wins the money, she wants to use it to buy a house. “I have moved around a lot for studying and so I’d like somewhere to finally call my own.”

James

“Geeky vibes” is what this 38-year-old gardener from Weymouth says he is bringing to the game, which he describes as “like a beautiful lovechild of Midsomer Murders and poker”. He is a big poker player, and says he has an “innate ability to read people like a book”, but he won’t be telling people in the castle that. The prize money, if he wins it, will go on a family holiday and camper van.

Jessie

Hull hairstylist Jessie, 28, says she thinks people underestimate her because of her orange hair and her stammer. “People might think that I don’t have it in in me to be brutal, but I do,” she warns. On whether she has a good poker face, she says: “Because of my work I do as I have to tell little lies when I’m talking to clients. If I’m in a bad mood, I have to just put a bit of an act on, because it isn’t about me, it’s about them getting their hair done.” If she wins, Jessie would like to pay off her mum’s house, and put whatever is left into her business.

Judy

Child liaison officer Judy wants to bring her nurturing qualities from working in fostering and adoption to the game. The 60-year-old from Doncaster says she is “always jolly”, adding: “I don’t do mardy. I just want to be there for people, embrace it and enjoy it.” On what she’d do with the prize money, she says she’d want to book a big holiday villa for her and her family. “Everyone’s lives are busy, and getting everyone together, under one roof, I’d love to do that. I’m not a greedy person, life’s all about family to me.”

Matthew

This 35-year-old creative director is the first Northern Irish man to be on The Traitors. Now based in Edinburgh, he says he’s “really competitive” and that he allows himself “to become a different person” when he plays games. “I allow myself to be brutal, in the way that you must be if you want to win.” If he wins the prize money, he’d like to spend it on buying a cottage in the Highlands and getting married to his partner after campaigning for marriage equality for same sex couples in Northern Ireland.

Maz

Preston-based Maz is a 59-year-old civil servant. He says he loves “the whole essence” of The Traitors, and is looking forward to the missions. “I’m quite active and I think I’m quite fit for my age. I play football twice a week, so I think I’ll bring that energy and drive.” He says the prize money would come in very useful because he has five children and five grandchildren to spend it on.

Netty

Netty, 42, is a nursery school teacher from Glasgow. She joined as a contestant because she “wanted to have some fun and do something that allowed me to get a little bit of myself back”. She’s excited to take part in the missions but says she is “maybe not the most well equipped” given her limb difference, adding: “Some things are more challenging for me than others, but I like to think that I can work my way around it.” If she wins the prize money, she’ll spend it on travelling with her seven-year-old daughter.

Rachel

“Monica from Friends” is the nickname Rachel’s friends call her, thanks to her competitive nature. The 42-year-old head of communications from County Down says she “will do anything to win”. She has been preparing for the game by signing up to an ex-FBI agent’s online classes about how to spot micro expressions and “how to really read people, even their swallow and their blink rate”. If the prize money goes her way, she will “create memories” by going on a trip with her mum, who has dementia, and her children.

Reece

Sweet shop assistant Reece, 27, is from Sheffield. “I’m not shy at being cutthroat,” he says. He’s also very up for the challenges. “Physically, I think I’m in the best shape of my life at the minute so the physical missions would be very much up my alleyway.” Reece would donate some of the prize money, if he wins it, to the charity Macmillan – his girlfriend recently lost her grandad to cancer. He says he’d also “love to just be financially secure”, so “would want to put some money towards a house and get out of the renting market”.

Ross

Ross, 37, is a sales exec and personal trainer from London who applied “on a whim” after some of his clients mentioned the show. He says he doesn’t have a good poker face, but he is skilled at “mixing lies with the truth”. He’s also good at winning things, he reckons, having had successes in basketball, rugby and bodybuilding in the past. “I’m a fifth ranked muscle model in Europe. And so, yes, I have a lot of accolades, and I also generally believe I’m just really lucky.” If he wins the prize money, he wants to use it to formalise his PT training by potentially doing further education in sports and nutrition.

Roxy

Amsterdam-based recruiter Roxy, 32, says she applied to be on The Traitors because the first six years of her life “were a little rocky”. “I think having that lived experience of adapting to different situations, meeting different people, figuring out who to trust, I thought those skills that have come from unfortunate circumstances, would actually take me really far on the show,” she adds. On what she’d spend the prize money on, she says: “I’ve got a big family. I would love to take all of those guys away and just do something nice as a family unit. I’d also use the money to start a family with my boyfriend.”

Sam

Aged 34, Sam – an account manager from North Yorkshire – is a huge fan of the show. He feels very confident in his ability to spot who’s lying. “It’s one of those things where you have to be consistently wary about whatever anyone’s saying. Even their backstory could be a lie, so I’m constantly aware.” If he gets to take the prize money home, he wants to spend it on starting a family with his wife. “That’s the biggest driver for me doing this,” he says. “The money would go towards childcare and everything like that as the costs are astronomical now, and so the money would just remove so much external pressure for us.”

Stephen

Stephen, 32, is a cyber security consultant from London. He is very excited for the missions. “Not going to say that I’m an absolute hunk, but I am quite active,” he says. “I do go to the gym every day, and I used to be a competitive gymnast as well.” He also thinks people will warm to him because of his accent – he’s originally from the north of Scotland. He thinks his degree in linguistics will help his gameplay. “I notice when people are using weird turns of phrase, or when their diction changes slightly,” he says. If he wins the prize money, he wants to help out his parents. “I would love to be able to give back to my dad who is the most incredible artist. He’s a butcher by trade but I would love to be able to just give him a chance to get away from that and really have more time to work on his art as much as possible. For myself, I’ve been in London now for eight years, and I’m getting to the point now where I’d like to be able to get on the property ladder.”