Claudia Winkleman has unveiled who she really wanted to be a Traitor from the start of the series while revealing how the cloaked contestants are picked.
Friday’s series two final saw Harry Clark take home the £95,150 cash prize after outsmarting his fellow players in the nail-biting final.
The 23-year-old British Army Corporal fought off competition from 20 other contestants all vying to win up to £100,000 in the famous castle as part of the intense psychological game.
Co-star Mollie Pearce wrongly thought he was a Faithful in the hopes of the pair of them splitting the cash, as he revealed he had been a Traitor all along, meaning he walked away with all the money.
But the ending could have been very different if host Claudia, 52, had got her way and had total say over who was picked as Traitors in the first place.
During BBC Two spin-off show The Traitors: Uncloaked on Friday, she said of picking the Traitors at the start of the series: ‘I don’t choose by myself, I choose with the brilliant producers and those conversations that I have are much longer than they appear on screen. They are persuasive.’
On who she would have chosen, she added: ‘I really, really wanted to make Diane a Traitor, I can say that out loud.
‘She was like “Can you imagine me a Traitor?”‘
The Traitors’ final made history as it became the most watched episode ever as 6.9million people tuned in on Friday night.
The series peaked an average 5.5million and a 33.5% share – making in the most watched programme in the last week – as Harry Clark emerged victorious.
The hit BBC show, hosted by TV favourite Claudia Winkleman, more than doubled views compared to the series ones final in 2022 – which saw 3.1million tune in.
Meanwhile, spin-off show The Traitors: Uncloaked received 3.1million viewers with a 26.6% share, peaking at 3.2million.
Harry took home the £95,150 cash prize after outsmarting his fellow players in the nail-biting final.
The 23-year-old British Army Corporal fought off competition from 20 other contestants all vying to win up to £100,000 in the famous castle as part of the intense psychological game.
Co-star Mollie Pearce wrongly thought he was a Faithful in the hopes of the pair of them splitting the cash, as he revealed he had been a traitor all along, meaning he walked away with all the money.
After convincing Mollie he was Faithful throughout the show, she was left in turmoil as she weighed up whether to vote out Jaz or Harry at the end the game.
Yet Mollie stayed loyal to her friendship, changing the name on her chalkboard at the last minute from Harry, to Jaz only to find out the heartbreaking truth that Harry was a traitor.
Overcome with emotion, Mollie was brought to tears as she cried: ‘Oh my f*****g god,’ before storming out of the studio.
Congratulating Harry, Claudia announced: ‘Harry you did it, you’ve played the game of your life, you’ve played an extraordinary game…£95,150! At 22 years old you have beaten everybody, you are our winner!’
Overwhelmed, Harry said: ‘My legs are shaking, oh my, oh my God! I just won £95,000! She’s like crying and stuff.
‘Mollie basically is the reason I am here, I need to gain her trust back, I don’t know if that will be possible, but I am going to try my hardest I promise you that.
‘My family know I am a good guy, to everyone else, if you don’t think I am a good guy – I promise you I am.
‘I came here for my family, my loved ones, they are my motivation, they are the reason I go on in life, and I can’t wait to be able to ring them and be like ‘I’ve just won 95 grand!’ it makes me so excited.
‘I feel like I can breathe, cause I am me again, I am Harry again… I underestimated this massively, you come here and there is 22 amazing people, and from the off I have been a Traitor, I’ve had enough of being naughty and being bad because that was next level!’
Celebrating her boyfriend’s incredible win, Anna Maynard took to Instagram with a snap of her and Harry at the set of tonight’s episode of Uncloaked.
She captioned the pic: ‘My winner. BEYOND proud of u xxxx @harryclarky’ before also sharing a picture of Harry planting a kiss on her cheek.
Mollie spent the final minutes of the game in floods of tears as she battled between casting her final vote on Harry or Jaz.
Despite originally writing Harry, she changed her mind to Jaz after she whispered to Harry: ‘It’s not you?’ and he replied: ‘No it’s not’.
After storming off set, Molly looked at Harry for a final time as she exclaimed: ‘F**k’.
Earlier in the episode Evie was banished by her fellow contestants, despite her strong defence that she was a faithful.
Andrew also fell victim to Harry’s incredible tactics as he too was banished after all three remaining players voted him out.
The insurance broker attempted to place the blame on Harry, yet he deflected the accusation and his attempt to stab Harry in the back shot him in the foot.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
