One of the now ex-contestants from the new series of The Traitors has expressed regret over feelings of paranoia that she says escalated ‘out of control’ during her time on the show.
Elen from Cardiff was the latest Faithful to be wrongfully ousted from the game as she failed to persuade her fellow players that she wasn’t a Traitor. The 24-year-old translator was visibly upset when making her plea at the dramatic Round Table.
Elen featured on Lorraine on Friday morning (January 3) and confessed that she couldn’t bring herself to watch the episode when it aired on BBC One because it was ‘too emotional’.
Reflecting on her departure, Elen disclosed that she felt paranoid from the moment she wasn’t picked as a Traitor, as she had braced for host Claudia Winkleman’s tap on the shoulder. She explained: “I think it was the right choice for me (being a Faithful). I don’t think I would have coped as a Traitor at all but I genuinely thought I would be selected to be a Traitor. I anticipated that the Traitors this year were going to be girls, so I genuinely prepared myself to be selected. I hadn’t prepared at all to be Faithful, and I think it shows.”
During the second episode’s Round Table, several contestants voted to banish Elen. They argued that her ‘intense emotional response’ and behaviour from the previous day led them to believe she was a Traitor, reports Wales Online.
Elen, a proud Welsh speaker, has opened up about often being underestimated by others. Reflecting on her feelings, she shared: “I wasn’t as tough as I thought I would be. As soon as I knew I was a Faithful I was instantly paranoid. I was constantly stressing about what other people were thinking, what was going through everybody’s heads. I was overthinking everything I did, every move I made, every word I said.”
She also revealed the struggle to keep her emotions in check to convince people she wasn’t a Traitor, saying: “It’s so funny looking back, but I really felt the energy in the room. I felt people speaking about me, and I couldn’t control it. I think because I wasn’t coping with the paranoia, it just made me come across even more suspicious.”
Explaining the complexities of her situation, Elen continued: “It’s a very difficult game in that regard, to be able to separate your feelings. As soon as one person has a suspicion, especially that early on in the game, it kind of spirals out of control. You can’t really do anything about it, and if you do one thing that might suggest you’re a Traitor, there’s no going back. You simply cannot change a person’s mind and the more you try to, the more suspicious you come across.”
Elen garnered the most votes and was consequently ousted from the game, despite being one of the few who astutely identified a Traitor in Linda. Before leaving, she disclosed her true allegiance to her fellow players, declaring: “Rwy’n ffyddlon. I am a Faithful.”
Nonetheless, Elen remains philosophical about her departure, trusting in the universe and feeling thankful for the brief but memorable experience.
When questioned on whether she would have altered her strategy, Elen reflected: “I would have spent more time preparing myself for both outcomes. I hadn’t given being a Faithful much thought. Oh, I regret that! I also really regret not telling people more clearly who I thought the Traitors were, because I was right.”
The Traitors continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer