Viewers were shocked after an explosive row on the show
20:34, 15 Jan 2026
The BBC has dismissed claims The Traitors bosses "staged" a row on the show. The hit programme hosted by Claudia WInkleman returned to screens at the start of this year with 22 fresh contestants. The hopeful players made their way into the infamous Scottish castle with the chance to win a whopping prize pot.
A fourth series of the show is well underway and viewers have been treated to countless dramatic moments over the past few weeks, including the intense showdown between two Traitors.
Some viewers had suggested Rachel and Fiona's explosive row was pre-planned in some way by producers, but the broadcaster has now insisted that is "categorically" not the case.
A spokesperson told the Daily Mirror: "To suggest any staging, scripting, player preference, or interference otherwise is categorically untrue.
"Players each have their own strategies, and we follow their interactions and the game play as it unfolds."
In the explosive row aired last week, Fiona was seen accusing Rachel of lying about her story that Amanda, who had been banished as a Faithful, confided in her that she was a former police detective.
Despite the reports, Fiona has said her decision to confront Rachel came from her own feelings about her fellow Traitor.
She told spinoff podcast Traitors Uncloaked: "I had my suspicions about Rachel and I thought if anyone was going throw me under the bus it was her.
"And in poker, when you have a rubbish hand, you throw the hand in. I thought, 'That's what I'm going to do here, I'm going to throw a grenade in the room and see who comes out unscathed.'
"Unfortunately it was me [who got banished], but I felt it had to be done. It would have been lovely if the three cloaks had gotten to the end but that was never going to happen."
Appearing on the This Morning sofa alongside hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard earlier this week, Fiona talked about her time on the show and how her family now call her a "plonker" for being banished from the show.
Speaking to Ben and Cat, Fiona said she doesn't regret her decision, because at the time she "had her reasons".
She said: "When I look back, I had my reasons. Rachel played this game magnificently and I knew I would never ever have an opportunity to win." She added: "Obviously, it was spectacularly the wrong decision."
Fiona said: "I had the suspicions that I was going to be thrown under the bus at some point", so she saw her chance to try and take Rachel down.
She said: "Rachel was a wonderful player, so strategic and an absolute delight to have been with. There was no way anybody would question Rachel as a Traitor."
"I thought this is the only opportunity I'm going to get to raise suspicions on Rachel." She added: "What's done is done and rightly so, I was booted off."
The Traitors airs at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer