Even a stopped castle clock is right twice a day. During last Friday’s jack-in-the-box mission on The Traitors, the remaining contestants were asked which of their fellow players would make the best Traitor. In a rare moment of insight, Weymouth gardener James Baker – he of the clumsy shield-stealing – said: “Rachel. She has those FBI skills and is just so smooth.”
He doesn’t know the half of it. Cut to Rachel saying through gritted teeth: “Shut up, James. Just shush.” She might have been momentarily rattled but the canny operator was soon making a mental note of everyone’s answers to use against them later. Translation: James’s days could be numbered.
Rachel Duffy from County Down could be about to become the first female Traitor to win a UK series. She’s bookies’ hot favourite going into this week’s three-night endgame – just ahead of Stephen Libby, her fellow Traitor, who has a spectacular jumpsuit collection but a lot more suspicion swirling around him.
As 22 players have been whittled down to eight, how has Rachel seen off 14 rivals with barely a bruise on her? She’s only received one banishment vote all series – and that was from crime novelist Harriet Tyce, who was promptly seen off. Rachel entered Ardross Castle armed with pre-planned tactics and it’s working like a dream. In terms of pure strategy, she’s arguably the best Traitor we’ve ever seen.
She honed her skulduggery skills playing Mafia – the social deduction game on which The Traitors is loosely based – with friends and family for the past 15 years. “They call me Monica from Friends because I’m so competitive,” she laughed. Going from the parlour game to its televised equivalent, she’s played an absolute blinder. Clever, cunning Rachel has pulled the strings all series from beneath that green velvet cloak.
In her fireside interview before being chosen as a Traitor, she confessed to Claudia Winkleman that she once lied her way into a hotel suite upgrade by pretending she was the Irish president’s daughter. She’s a great liar because she knows precisely how to hide it. Many viewers laughed last week when Rachel revealed that her pre-show preparation included being trained by a former FBI agent in the art of lying: how to spot micro-expressions, read blink patterns, monitor breathing and swallowing. She told the credulous Faithful that she took the course so she could help them root out Traitors. None twigged that it actually enables her to dupe, deceive and mask the telltale signs.
She’s been publicly (and correctly) accused twice but somehow still has no heat on her. The two rivals to launch outright attacks were Harriet and Fiona Hughes, the red-cloaked Secret Traitor from Swansea. Both were comfortably beaten, leaving Rachel’s reputation miraculously unsullied. If you’re going to take a shot at the queen, you can’t afford to miss. Any other Faithful with lingering doubts will now be terrified to take her on. Don’t mess with ruthless Rach.
She might have main character energy but Rachel is no pantomime villain. She’s grasped that as well as a battle of wits, The Traitors is partly a popularity contest. She’s carefully cultivated friendships within the castle but, crucially, without forming cliques. Being so well liked helps make Rachel bulletproof.
Even her outfits are strategic. She dresses in bright, breezy colours, almost channelling a CBeebies presenter. She once teamed denim dungarees with a yellow top, sparking Minion memes. When she needed to get her game face on, Rachel glammed up for a pivotal round table. Even her nemesis Harriet noted how she was “dressed to kill”. “Very good,” smiled Rachel, before dispatching the former barrister.
She’s happy to be underestimated too. Rachel semi-fibbed about her occupation, telling castmates she works in marketing. Sort of true. She actually has a high-powered post in strategic communications. Well versed in the arts of persuasion and manipulation, her day job is to craft compelling narratives. She’s transferred those skills to The Traitors.
Remember her gathering everyone together to announce that Amanda Collier was secretly a retired Met detective? This not only enabled Rachel to control the castle conversation – she’s still wielding Amanda’s (wrong) theories as weapons – but made her look trusted by a confirmed Faithful, therefore likely to be one herself. She pulled the wool over a seasoned copper’s eyes and in the process, everyone else’s too.
At those all-important round tables, Rachel and co-conspirator Stephen are convincing actors who use silence effectively. Communications expert Vernon Thompson, head of voice and speech at City Lit, says: “When accused, the instinct is to rush to defend yourself. However, silence can be a powerful tool. Waiting just two or three seconds before replying not only makes you appear calm and measured but also flips perceptions. A panicked defence is less credible than a composed pause, followed by a considered response.”
Rachel knows when to talk, what to say and when to keep her own counsel. She often sits back and lets others do her job for her. She tends to speak up towards the end of round tables, so whatever she says is still ringing in everyone’s ears when it’s time to write a name on their slate.
Witness how she masterfully set up psychologist Ellie in the latest episode to divert scrutiny from Stephen. She claimed that somebody had inadvertently given themselves away and promised to bring proof to the round table. Rather than unveiling any actual evidence, Rachel admitted to “telling a wee white lie”. She had no strong suspicions, claiming she’d instead tried to flush out a Traitor by monitoring whose behaviour changed – and insisted it was Ellie’s. The widely unsuspected Ellie was suddenly toast. Rachel is head of strategic communications for a reason.
Such cool, collected gameplay makes her a formidable foe. Neither is she averse to causing chaos when it serves her. She blindsided Ross by casually asking: “Was Hugo this dramatic in the turret?” When Ross lamely pretended not to know what she meant, his fate was sealed. Rachel innocently acted like it was all a joke. Likewise with the baby of the group, 22-year-old Faraaz, who she impishly accused of “getting rid of all the oldies”, before bidding farewell with, “Goodnight, my Traitor son.” Just a bit of banter, but subtly sowing seeds. Faraaz might now be reluctant to vote against Rachel for fear of looking ageist.
This year’s batch have played the game harder than any previous cohort. Before the series launched, Winkleman teased: “We get some very juicy confrontations. It gets hardcore. We’ve never seen it played like this brilliant cast play it.” She was probably referring to Harriet’s breakfast fury and Fiona’s kitchen accusations – two electric TV moments, sure, but soon forgotten. As Rachel says: “I know the difference between reality and a game.”
Rachel has been pivotal to the Highland hysteria, soaking up pressure without ever breaking sweat. Can she continue her dominance right to the end? We left on a cliffhanger, with the Traitors weighing up who to give the ceremonial dagger, which bestows a double vote at the next round table. Did Rachel decide to keep it for herself? It would probably shore up her and Stephen’s survival, but isn’t without risks, since it could also attract suspicion.
Yet it’s a typical Rachel move. A calculated gamble which she has the smarts to pull off. Is she even better at this game than the only two previous UK Traitors to win: series two’s baby-faced assassin Harry Clark and chaotic Alan Carr from the inaugural celebrity edition? We’ll know by Friday night’s grand final. You wouldn’t put it past her to pull the ultimate Traitor move, scrap her pact with Stephen and walk away with the entire prize pot. It would be no less than Rachel deserves.
