THE TRAITORS’ Linda Rands pulled a seriously clever move during Wednesday night’s round table that could help her go on to win, claims show legend Paul Gorton.
Retired opera singer Linda, 70, is currently one of two Traitors (the other being call centre manager Minah Shannon, 29) carrying out savage murders in the grand Scottish manor.
While she’s relishing her role as a killer, Linda has come close to being rumbled several times, most notably in the very first episode when host Claudia Winkleman secretly selected her as a Traitor.
Astute Jake Brown, 28, noticed her cast a glance immediately at Claudia when she said the word ‘traitor’, and has yet to fully throw him off the scent.
But she went some way to redeeming herself in a blink and you’ll miss it moment when she offered upset Livi Deane, 26, a comforting hand as Faithful Kasim Ahmed, 33, was eliminated at the round table after days of mounting pressure.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun on behalf of Freebets, Paul, 37, said: “There was a great moment when Kas went.
“The camera pans on them and it goes to the person that’s about to say whether they’re a Faithful or a Traitor, Linda’s got hold of the girl’s hand that’s sat next to her.
“She’s got hold of Libby’s hand and I’m looking and I’m going, ‘God, everyone round that table…’ Because you’re not really supposed to touch or hold hands.
“I think you’re actually not supposed to do it. But the fact that she has shows kind of like a bond and an emotion there. So everyone observing would go, ‘she’s so clearly a Faithful’.”
Despite the shrewd move, Paul believes Linda might just be the “worst Traitor to ever play the game”.
That being said, he thinks it could also work to her advantage as she continues to innocently fend of suspicion with bemused looks while fellow Traitor Minah is perhaps beginning to overplay her hand.
He said: “I think Linda is the one that’s been called out the most. And, to be fair to her, every time she’s called out, she handles it.
“Linda seems to be growing and kind of showing signs that she might stick around. She’s quite possibly the worst Traitor in the world. And I think there’s a chance she might win.”
Last night Faithful Tyler Smith, 29, was the latest contestant to be axed after politics student Freddie Fraser raised doubts over his intentions by claiming he was exerting influence as part of a clique that involved Livi.
The seed soon spread around the group and he was the overwhelming choice to go home.
It all proved too much for model Livi when he went, with the tearful contestant storming out of the room.
Freddie, 20, moved quickly to make amends with her but suspicion is still (wrongly) hovering over his head and he could find himself in trouble tonight.
The Traitors first launched in the UK in 2022, after the Dutch format was acquired by the BBC.
Claudia Winkleman is the show’s host, and has now hosted all three series to date.
How does it work?
It is a reality game show that involves 22 contestants, and some of them are chosen to be The Traitors.
The Traitors sees a group of contestants taking part in “the ultimate game of truth and deception”.
The group of contestants are competing for the chance to walk away with a huge cash prize.
While navigating through a series of challenges, the team are also tasked with figuring out who the Traitors are in the group (usually three contestants).
Each night, the Traitors gather to “eliminate” one of the Faithful, removing them from the competition
Meanwhile, the traitors can be “banished” if they’re successfully outed as a traitor by a faithful.
The winners of the show are either the Traitor who remains undetected or the Faithfuls if they successfully eliminate all the Traitors.
The prize sees the winner could get £120K.
