Banished Traitor Hugo talks ‘herd mentality’, the “best dressed traitor” and Cambridge memories.
Hugo Lodge from the ongoing BBC hit series The Traitors has been interviewed by his alma mater, Downing College, after getting banished from castle.
The barrister and former Cambridge student was voted off the show after other contestants grew suspicious of his melodramatic reaction to Ben’s murder.
In the interview published on the Cambridge college’s website, the former Traitor shared some highlights of his time on the show, while also opening up about his time as a Cambridge student.
Speaking about his first day on The Traitors, Hugo compared the experience to starting Cambridge: “Initially, meeting my fellow players reminded me very much of Freshers’ Week. It was completely acceptable to just talk to people and learn more about them. We all bonded instantly”.
But unlike many Cambridge students, Hugo was not involved in the college rowing scene. He admitted: “While at Downing, I also managed to avoid being recruited by the boaties – so maybe I picked up a few diversion and deception tactics too!”.
Hugo says he still remains “closely connected” to Downing all these years later – “I celebrated my 50th birthday at the College last year and I’m already planning my next visit for later this year”.
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The Traitors offered him the opportunity to “study the ‘herd mentality’ of a group from the inside”, drawing on the skills he had learnt during his time in the legal profession.
“I wanted to see how people think, how they’re influenced, and—most importantly—how they reach a consensus when the stakes are that high”, Hugo explained.
When asked how he felt about being selected as a Traitor, Hugo revealed he was “delighted”, saying: “I don’t think I would have lasted one day as a Faithful”, especially since Rachel said she would have murdered him “in an instant” if he had not been a fellow Traitor.
His initial plan was to capitalise on his ability to put forward a case and make shrewd observations based on other players’ behaviour, styling himself on “Phantom of the Opera” in being “understated, subtle and modest”.
However, having been so unapologetically vocal from the start, Hugo made himself a target of suspicion for the Faithfuls, who saw this confident and unfazed persona as Traitor behaviour.
Reflecting on this, Hugo said: “I did have a plan, but I didn’t really stick to it […] I kept forgetting to pretend to be a Faithful which is ultimately what you must do as a Traitor”.
Furthermore, the twist of this year’s series, the selection of a “Secret Traitor” (whose identity was kept concealed from the Traitors) did not initially go down well with Hugo, who claimed he did not require “middle management or supervision”.
Hugo admitted: “I changed my game plan slightly to hunt [them] down […] ultimately becoming a bit obsessed and taking a very high risk”.
When asked how he felt about being voted out by fellow Traitor Stephen, Hugo just laughed it off, saying: “Traitors gonna Trait, Trait, Trait, Trait, Trait. You’ve just got to shake it off! I would have done the same thing to Stephen. It’s only a game […] and he was the best dressed Traitor”.
Hugo has since returned to work, now pivoting towards “advisory-focused roles”, but he maintains that his time on Traitors was “a brilliant interlude” in his legal career, asking “Who could resist the chance to join a televised murder mystery?”.
Hugo told Downing that even though the experience itself had been “incredibly rewarding”, if he had won, he would have donated the prize money to a charitable cause: “My goal was always to donate any winnings to a human rights charity”.
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Looking ahead to the future, Hugo is currently training for the London Marathon in April, and he continues to be recognised by fans in public.
“Everyone has been so positive and friendly, it has been wonderful. I have been asked for a few selfies in the street which has been fun”.
As the series slowly approaches its finale, Hugo will be watching just as intently as other Traitors fans across the country: “I too am glued to the television as we do not know the result”.
Despite being betrayed by a fellow Traitor, Hugo is still rooting for the Traitors.
“I am still very much ‘Team Traitor’ and hope they go on to win. I think that Rachel is currently in a very strong position and I am looking forward to seeing what happens.”
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