The whole nation gasped when Fiona randomly accused Rachel of lying on The Traitors (well, seven million people in the nation gasped). Erm, The Traitors producers have been accused of staging Fiona and Rachel’s feud more than we thought.
A source told the Daily Mail: “The dramatic scenes between Rachel and Fiona were the result of ‘clever meddling’ by the producers. They knew the rivalry had potential and encouraged the contestants to publicly challenge each other for their place in the competition.
“As with most reality shows, producers are heavily involved in shaping the narrative. During filming of The Traitors, producers constantly brief contestants. They speak to them before each segment and again while filming their pieces to camera. Fiona, in particular, was urged to go head-to-head with Rachel, who remained a favourite with the production team.
“The intervention was to heighten tension and drama on screen. Ultimately, the dramatic showdown was carefully orchestrated to keep viewers hooked and maximise the episode’s impact, which worked a charm.”
A spokesperson for The Traitors denied the producers meddled to this extent. They said: “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.”
What a weird conversation to witness
(Image via BBC iPlayer)
The scenes in which The Traitors meet up in the turret are all a bit more, ahem, engineered than they come across on TV. Traitors don’t really meet up in a lofty tower. The “turret” is a set. The cast members don’t actually sleep in the castle, but in a hotel by Inverness Airport. Nobody is “murdered” at night – the condemned contestant is told they were killed the next morning, when they are interviewed in one of the identical confessional rooms.
For more reality TV gossip, like The Tab Entertainment on Facebook.
Featured image credit: BBC
