We are forever indebted to the BBC's smash reality TV series The Traitors for bringing us the tea that we sorely need in these winter months. But let's call attention to those who are most often serving the tea: the absolute divas who walk the halls of the castle.
Some have been Traitors, some have been Faithful. Some have faked a Welsh accent all the way through. As well as giving us endless drama and hilarious yet human reactions to ridiculousy complicated challenges and truly baffling paranoia at the roundtable, The Traitors has been home to some seriously iconic divas, and I'd like to begin with none other than Fiona, who departed the castle last week.
What's next for our Traitors?
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What was her game? Who knows? Did she even have one in mind as she blindly accused Rachel of being a Traitor (potentially breaking a key rule of the game, but we'll table that for now) and set about creating potentially one of the biggest dramas the castle has seen, without a truly coherent reason for doing so? Other than, perhaps, feeling jealous that banished detective Amanda had not confided in her?
Either way, whatever the answers are to the aforementioned questions, we are obsessed with Fiona's diva quality, and the hilarity and unpredictable drama it brings. It did, however, cause her to be ousted from the castle after it bringing too much heat on her, too much of a target on her back etc etc. But she thoroughly entertained us before she was sent home, we have to admit.
The diva energy, of course, doesn't stop there – Fiona is just the most recent example of this magic that seems to manifest in the Traitors' castle. Alexander's badminton skills had a trace of the diva, as did Aubrey's fashion choices.
Two massive icons that we must namecheck, though, are Amanda from series 1 and Diane from series 2. The former set the standard for diva one-liners with her totally legendary declaration, "Mother by day, murder by night", which is definitely the essence of many Traitors divas. Acting as a caring middle-aged female stereotype when they need to and playing the game ruthlessly under cover of their former, softer cover.
Diana's untimely exit from the 2024 series was dubbed as the biggest watercooler moment of the series. As well as being nominated for a BAFTA for her time on the series, the retired teacher was viewed by fans as a “mother” of the contestants and a queer icon. The biggest diva moment of Diana's time on the series? Undoubtedly, her death, which was done in the campest of forms, by a poisoned chalice of sparkling rosé – the diva's drink of choice, arguably. Obsessed. Like many Traitors contestants who have been given the diva status, Diana has commented that she has been very “flattered” at her icon rep since her time on the show aired.
We would be remiss to not give a certain shout-out to the recently aired Celebrity Traitors series, which undoubtedly had more than a few divas in its lineup. Our top pick is – without a doubt – national treasure Celia Imrie. From her sneaky yet direct analysis of her fellow contestants to her hilarious admission that she farted from nerves during a mission (described by Cat Burns to Glamour as the funniest part of her time on the series). She knew who she was and made no apologies for it. And that's truly what defines a diva.
We also have to shout out Celebrity Traitors winner Alan Carr, whose increasing taste for blood gave us serious diva vibes. When he was first chosen as a Traitor, we could see him sweating with guilt and stress, but after a few nights, he was glorying in the kill. And we were obsessed with it.
A special kind of diva is someone who was a truly terrible Traitor, but got by on pure sass alone anyway. Linda was the name on all of our lips while watching 2025's series. Her dramatic persona – apparently strengthened by her experience as an opera singer – including a poorly timed head turn at the roundtable when the Traitors were mentioned, and definitely over-the-top grief at the death of certain Faithfuls, made her legendary amongst fans.
Of course, we must above all honour the truest Traitors diva, the mother of the entire show, arguably… Claudia Winkleman. From stamping on framed pictures of murdered contestants to witty one-liners about biscuits, she's got it all – and she sets the tone for the other divas to follow.
The promotion and encouragement of diva vibes on The Traitors is something that feeds into the empowerment of middle-aged women. In a world where women speaking out – especially those past the age of, say, 40 – is not always welcomed, we in turn champion the space that The Traitors gives for diva energy. In the entertainment world alone, young, slim women are still put on a pedestal, leading to all kinds of beauty standards and body image problems and pressures – so it is beyond refreshing to see women who don't fit the mould being lauded for their attitude, their cunning and their chaos.
Whether a contestant channels their inner diva through a certain outfit – it could be argued Jonathan Ross's cardigans were a diva genre all of their own – or chaotic discourse or dramatic proclamations, we love and encourage it all. Long may it continue.
Even the most beloved reality show on television holds a mirror up to our unconscious biases.
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