The Traitors 2026 live: Faithfuls catch their first Traitor after backstabbing move
Stephen and Rachel are set to meet the Secret Traitor after throwing their fellow Traitor under the bus
The Traitors is back with a bang, as BBC’s much-loved game show gets off to a treacherous start.
The New Year’s Day premiere saw 22 contestants enter Ardross Castle, but already four have exited including nursery school teacher Netty and Judy, who was banished – much to the dismay of her secret daughter Roxy.
Saturday’s episode (3 January) kicked off with the revelation that the Traitors – Hugo, Stephen, and Rachel – had chosen to kill off former Navy man Ben.
It was Hugo’s melodramatic reaction to Ben’s death announcement that proved to be his downfall as Harriet began compiling a compelling case against him – which she voiced during a heated roundtable that ultimately saw Stephen throw Hugo under the bus, and Hugo banished as the first Traitor of the season.
Episode three ended with the remaining Traitors tasked with marking the castle’s family tree poster in plain sight. They had to use red ink to indicate the names of nine potential next victims.
The duo succeeded in their challenge, and for their reward will be united with the mysterious Secret Traitor – who will be unmasked in next week’s episode.
The Traitors continues on BBC One on Wednesday (7 January) at 8pm.
The questions we're asking after the Secret Traitor twist
The Secret Traitor twist hasn’t just left us guessing who the mystery character is - heaps of other questions have emerged too.
Firstly, what happens when the Secret Traitor is banished? Will they simply state “I’m a Traitor” as they leave the round table, or reveal the extent of their role to the whole group?
And what happens if they’re banished early on? Will the producers pick another Secret Traitor, or will the regular Traitors be promoted out of middle management, and be free to do their murdering?
The murder shortlists are the biggest clues the regular Traitors – and us at home – have when it comes to figuring out who the Secret Traitor is.
We’ve already been able to rule out three possibilities as they appear on the first list, and if the Secret Traitor isn’t careful, they could quickly reveal themselves by process of elimination. If a regular Traitor manages to rumble them, could we see a whispered confrontation?
The first person murdered is...
Netty!!
Oh that’s going to put Ross under suspicion, isn’t it? Or will people realise he may have been framed?
Reflecting on her early exit, Netty said: “ I’m so gutted. I think I would have been a really good Faithful. Maybe I’ve been too good of a Faithful... too loud.”
“I’ll look like Cindy Crawford... I’ve got a little red bather which is a thong!”
Fiona is already an icon. I cannot tell you how much I would love for her to be the Secret Traitor.
The airquotes are out already! The roundtables are going to be brutal this year, aren’t they...
An additional Secret Traitor clue in that VT - they’re right-handed.
It’s not much I know, but we’ve got to take what we can get, OK?
Could Roxy be the Secret Traitor?
I’ll be honest, I had not suspected her at all.
You’d think the Secret Traitor would plan to fly under the radar, which is the absolute opposite of what Roxy has been doing. And her reaction after her mum’s banishment seemed pretty genuine?
Some fans have picked up on her handwriting though...
Here’s what Netty had to say after unfortunately becoming the first murdered contestant...
The updated Secret Traitor shortlist
There are now 20 people in the castle, following Netty and Judy’s exits.
And the latest murder list rules out two more people (it would be three but poor Maz is on there again!).
That leaves us with 14 possible Secret Traitors...
Stephen
Rachel
Hugo
Maz
Reece
Ben
James
Amanda
Ross
Adam
Ellie
Faraaz
Fiona
Harriet
Jack
Jade
Jessie
Matthew
Roxy
Sam
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