THE TRAITORS saw a high twist in tonight’s series premiere, with two players announcing they’re sisters.
Claudia Winkleman, 52, returned with a brand new series of the BBC reality show this New Years Day, welcoming a fresh batch of hopefuls to a majestic Scottish Highlands castle.
The group of strangers gathered to embark on the ultimate game of deception, betrayal, and trust, with a jackpot of up to £120,000 at stake.
Amongst them was financial investigator Armani, 27, and full-time mum Maia, 25, both hailing from Essex.
The siblings told viewers about their relationship from the beginning, with Armani, playfully asking during their train journey to the castle: “Are you happy to be here?”
Maia replied: “Of course I’m happy to be here with you.”
Armani added in a confessional, “I would say that Maya is a typical little sister. She’s truly the baby.”
And it seems like their sibling bond goes deeper than just family ties.
“Like, she will get away with just about murder. We’ve got to tell them straight away, because we’re too similar. We talk the same. We look very similar, and we have very similar mannerisms,” Armani said.
As they shared their strategy for navigating the tense atmosphere of The Traitors, Armani revealed her plan to let her sister take charge in certain situations.
She said: “I think with my sister being here, I’m just going to let her do what she does best, which is try to control everything around her.
“And then I’m just going to be controlling things behind the scenes. That’s my plan.”
Maya, on the other hand, gave a glimpse into her own approach to the game, saying: “I’m very… I meet someone and I decide if I like them there and then.”
It remains to be seen whether the sisters’ close connection will give them an edge in the game.
Claudia crowned three female Traitors after branding last series’ all-male gang “like the olden days” – one of which being Armani.
After the problematic trend developed last series, a group of women were instead chosen to kick off the show’s third run.
Armani, retired opera singer Linda, 70 and call centre manager Minah, 29, were handpicked by Claudia and show bosses.
Claudia commented: “We talk to all of them in the library, and I’m just the smallest voice in the room but we decide, having had those chats, who it’s going to be.
“And I loved picking these three.”
Asked if it felt like “a statement” after series two’s male domination, Claudia said: “There is a bit of that yes… I had faith.
“They felt like the right three. Whatever happens, it was the right thing to do.”
Claudia ruffled feathers when she interjected after Traitors Harry Clark and Paul Gorton added three men to their pack in quick succession.
She told them: “Another man, good, it’s like the olden days.”
Claudia later commented: “Maybe I shouldn’t have done but I just had to say it.
“I was like ‘Come on, boys, what you need here is a really smart woman’, but they were threatened by them.”
In another boost for the sisterhood, Armani and another player Maia reveal to the group that they are sisters.
Unlike previous years where partners Alex and Tom and mum and son Diane and Ross Carson kept their relationships under wraps, the girls confessed from the off because they knew they’d be unable to hide their likeness.
The launch episode opened with a savage twist, which saw three of the 25-strong cast kicked off the train to Ardross Castle, Inverness before the game had even begun.
It meant Jack, former British diplomat Alexander and community worker Fozia lost out within minutes.
Claudia said: “When they turn up, they assume they know the way the game is going to go and it’s our job to show them that they don’t.
“You can’t repeat. You want to give the people playing and the people watching something new.”
