The Traitors winner Rachel Duffy has opened up on going through “a rough couple of weeks” in her first TV appearance since her mother’s death.
The mother-of-three became the first female Traitor to win the UK version of the hit show back in January, when she and Stephen Libbey walked away with the £95,750 prize pot.
Rachel had planned to spend her half of the winnings on creating precious memories with her mum, Anne, who suffered from dementia. But sadly, just days after the finale aired, her mother passed away.
In an interview on Thursday’s (26 February) Morning Live, the mother-of-three said: “It's been a rough couple of weeks, it's been a big high, and then a dip down low, but thankfully I have the best family in the world so I'm getting through it.”
Reflecting on how her mum reacted to her stint in the Traitors castle, Rachel continued: “Sometimes we'd go visit her in the nursing home and she'd be re-watching the episodes. She was really, really proud.
“She'd ring me and be like, ‘Who did you murder?’ and I was like, ‘Mum, I can't tell you!’. She loved it, I spoke to her after I won and she was really proud. It’s a privilege to talk about her.”
Rachel, 42, had shared her mum’s story on The Traitors, telling the fellow contestants about her health issues and how she planned to spend her winnings.
“Mummy was just 47 when she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, four years older than I am now, and faces dementia, but still amazes me and my family every single day,” she said.
“I just want to create memories with her while I’m still lucky enough to have her, and to create memories with my kids, because they just love their nanny.”
Rachel, who was yet to receive her winnings when her mum died, said on Morning Live that she still plans to use the money to “make memories”.
“I can't get to make them with mummy, but I'm going to make them with my family,” she said. “I think being able to do nice things with them is an absolute blessing. So I think we're going to have a fun 2026.”
This year’s series of The Traitors attracted a record-breaking number of viewers, with 9.4 million of us watching the nail-biting conclusion – making it the most-watched finale in the history of the civilian version of the show, which started in 2022.
Bosses are currently locking in a fresh batch of famous contestants following the huge success of the British version’s first celebrity series last autumn - and it seems they aren’t short of options, as plenty of big names have thrown their hats into the ring.
A fifth regular series will follow next year.
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