The Traitors viewers all have the identical ‘unhappy’ grievance about BBC present: ‘Didn’t need this to occur’
The Traitors UK viewers have blasted the show after spotting ‘secret influencers’ among this year’s cast – and believe it’s the reason they’re acting ‘meaner’ than usual.
The hit BBC show fronted by Claudia Winkleman has returned for a third season – but viewers quickly noted that several changes had been made.
The series has in the past been praised for including ‘real people’ from everyday walks of life, with many taking time off work to take part.
But after TikTok detectives got to work, they realised that several of this year’s contestants seemed familiar, due to their already large followings online.
Contestants such as Maia, Armani and Livi appeared to have large followings on social media prior to episodes airing.
It’s also been noted that this year’s series has been ‘meaner’ than usual, with contestants Leanne, Livi, Tyler and Leon being accused of forming a ‘clique’ and ganging up on other cast members.
One user wrote on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Is it just me, or is this season of traitors basically a popularity contest and the ‘clique’ are high school mean girls… there is zero logic.’
On TikTok, pop culture expert @indigoreports pointed out all the ‘secret influencers’ in the show.
The Traitors viewers have blasted the show after spotting ‘secret influencers’ among this year’s cast. Pictured: Contestant Maia Gouveaix on her Instagram account
Maia’s sister Armani is also building an online presence and has even released her first single
She said: ‘Here are The Traitors stars this year that already have a huge social media following.
‘So the biggest influencer on the show this year is our girl Maia. She’s described on the show as being a full-time mum, but she’s also an influencer.’
Maia, 25, has more than 150,000 followers on TikTok, posting mothering and personal content, and having a significant chunk of these before The Traitors aired at the start of this month.
Her most viral videos under her username @maia.gouveiax have included taking a pregnancy at work and videos of her daughter, Ava.
Her sister Armani, 27, a financial investigator, also seems to have embraced the world of influencing with her 26,000 TikTok followers.
She gained nine million views for a video of herself accidentally dancing on a man who wasn’t her boyfriend at Reading Festival, and has recently released her first single on all major platforms.
Both Armani and Maia have already been voted off the 2025 series: Armani after being uncovered as a traitor, and Maia being murdered as a faithful that evening.
In the series, a selection of contestants known as ‘faithfuls’ must root out the hidden ‘traitors’ among them, with ‘banishments’ and ‘murders’ taking place at regular intervals.
Livi Dean is a model and beautician with a large following on Instagram
Francesca, 44, from East Sussex, already had a large following on Instagram for her interior design account
On TikTok, pop culture expert @indigoreports pointed out all the ‘secret influencers’ in the show
Tyler, who was banished in last night’s episode, has gained several million views for his ‘relatable’ content on TikTok
Meanwhile Maia has a whopping 150,000 followers, mainly posting motherhood content
Armani seems to be following in her sister’s footsteps and previously went viral for a video from Reading Festival
Also considered to be an influencer are Tyler, 29 – who was banished on last night’s episode – with 37,000 TikTok followers, posting relatable content about dating.
Meanwhile Livi, 26, a model and beautician from Horsham, has gained 11,000 followers on Instagram for her posts.
Francesca, 44, from East Sussex, already had a large following on Instagram for her interior design account.
On TikTok, people rushed to the comments to express their distaste for the number of influencers being cast on the programme.
They said: ‘I’m not interested in influencers. Real ppl only please!!!’;
‘They’ve changed it up quite a bit with the casting this series, so will be VERY interesting to see if it pays off. I have a feeling it won’t and the sanctity of the show will be compromised’;
‘That’s what I’m saying.. now most of the people going there for more fame ,followers and brand deals than actually money and fun after seeing what some ppl gain from season 2’;
‘Why can’t they pick real random people. kills it for me if they are already influencers. nah, they gotta go’;
People were disappointed after the apparent increase in influencers appearing on the show
‘Ahhh nooo. Didn’t want this to happen with Traitors. People to boost their own profiles. Rubbish’;
‘It is a shame that they seemingly have more social influencers this year, I hope it doesn’t affect the series’;
‘The sign up literally asks you for links to all of your socials, it’s sad :(‘;
‘Nooooo, I didn’t want traitors to become like every other reality show.’
It comes after viewers labelled this year’s contestants as ”the worst Faithfuls ever’ after they once again failed to suss out a Traitor.
Thursday’s episode of the hit BBC show saw the dramatic moment that Tyler was banished after receiving the most number of votes at the round table.
But he then revealed that he had been a Faithful all along, sending shockwaves around the castle and making Livi storm off.
As he prepared to head home, Tyler addressed his co-stars, saying: ‘I just want to say I love all of you, it’s just a game. So keep going and smash it, I love you. I am Faithful.’
While he also shared a moment with his pal Livi, as he whispered to her to ‘stay strong’.
After revealing his identity, the cast gasped in shock and frustration that they had once again voted out one of their own.
The Traitors viewers have labelled this year’s contestants as ”the worst Faithfuls ever’ after they once again failed to suss out a Traitor
Thursday’s episode of the hit BBC show saw the dramatic moment that Tyler was banished after receiving the most number of votes at the round table (pictured)
But he then revealed that he had been a Faithful all along, sending shockwaves around the castle and making Livi storm off
Meet the cast of The Traitors 2025
Elen
Age: 24
Occupation: Translator
Location: Cardiff
Lisa
Age: 62
Occupation: Anglican Priest
Location: Cornwall
Jack
Age: 24 (at time of filming, 25 now)
Occupation: Market trader and landscaper
Location: Yorkshire
Alex
Age: 29
Occupation: Care Manager
Location: Whitby
Alexander
Age: 38
Occupation: Former British Diplomat
Location: London
Anna
Age: 28
Occupation: Swimming Teacher
Location: County Wicklow, Ireland
Armani
Age: 27
Occupation: Financial Investigator
Location: London
Charlotte
Age: 32 (33 now)
Occupation: Business Director
Location: London, recently moved to Hampshire
Dan
Age: 33
Occupation: Bank Risk Manager
Location: Liverpool
Fozia
Age: 50
Occupation: Community Development Manager
Location: Birmingham
Francesca
Age: 44
Occupation: Interior Designer
Location: East Sussex
Freddie
Age: 20
Occupation: Politics Student
Location: Peterborough
Jake
Age: 28
Occupation: Project manager
Location: Barrow-in-Furness
Joe
Age: 37
Occupation: English Teacher
Location: Southampton (Originally Yorkshire)
Kasim
Age: 33
Occupation: Doctor
Location: Cambridge
Keith
Age: 65
Occupation: Window cleaner
Location: Bournemouth
Leanne
Age: 28
Occupation: Veteran
Location: Holywell, North Wales
Leon
Age: 40
Occupation: Retail store manager
Location: East Midlands
Linda
Age: 70
Occupation: Retired opera singer
Location: Hertfordshire
Olivia (Livi)
Age: 26
Occupation: Beautician and Model
Location: Horsham
Maia
Age: 25
Occupation: Full-time Mum
Location: Essex
Minah
Age: 29
Occupation: Call Centre Manager
Location: Liverpool
Nathan
Age: 39
Occupation: Property Consultant
Location: London
Tyler
Age: 29
Occupation: Barber
Location: Leicester
Yin
Age: 34
Occupation: Doctor of communication
Location: Berkshire
And Livi angrily declared: ‘No one’s listening to me. I’ve literally got to get out of here for a second,’ before running out of the room in tears.
However, she had set her sights firmly on Freddie for two round tables in a row, who is also a Faithful.
While another person who received a lot of votes on Thursday’s episode was Faithful Lisa, causing viewers to mock this year’s cast and say ‘none of them have a clue’.
Taking to X, fans pointed out that there was a distinct lack of ‘planning or teamwork whatsoever’ ahead of roundtables and quipped the Faithfuls have ‘the mindset of Dory from Finding Nemo.
They wrote: ‘These are the worst faithfuls ever hahahahahha none of them have a clue’; ‘Faithfuls barking up the wrong tree again. I love it’; ‘Faithful are all over the place’.
‘There is never any strategy to who they go for at the Round Table. Hilarious to watch such chaos unfold’; ‘Minah is making it look easy to be a Traitor, she’s just sitting watching the Faithfuls cause all of the drama’
‘The Faithfuls have the mindset of Dory from Finding Nemo, it is literally whoever the last person they heard right before the deliberation, with no sense of planning or teamwork whatsoever. #TheTraitors are KILLING it this season.’
