With tears at breakfast, a secret priest and a bizarre fake Welsh accent all in the first episode, The Traitors is well and truly back. Season three of the reality hit dropped on New Year’s Day 2025, and Claudia didn’t keep us waiting for a big twist this time around.
Spoilers are ahead if you haven’t seen the first episode!
The contestants were split into three carriages on the steam train for their ride to the castle. However, partway through the journey, the train came to a halt and they were told one person from each section must get off as the roundtable only had space for up to 22 people.
The decision had to be made quickly, as £10,000 was on the line, with every minute wasted being worth £1,000.
BBC / Studio Lambert
Ultimately, Fozia, Jack and Alexander all humbly volunteered for the chopping block… though some were more enthusiastic about the situation.
While this move appears brutal, traditionally the only way for players to leave the game is via banishment or murder. Plus, all three were shown filming Talking Heads which supposedly takes place in the castle, so there’s good reason to believe that they may return.
But how could that manifest? As a mega-fan of The Traitors, I’ve done some speculating with my fellow Faithful, and I have some thoughts.
Why Fozia, Jack and Alexander could return as Faithfuls
The most likely scenario for the ‘train trio’ to return to The Traitors is as fellow Faithful later in the game. Why? Because it’s happened before.
In season 1 of the show, Kieran and Amos weren’t even allowed in the castle, as they named themselves as the least likely to win when asked by the presenter. Claudia took them at their word and asked them to leave the game.
However, the pair returned during a mission when players had to match symbols worn by a crowd of people in gold masks. Two of those were the former contestants.
The break worked in their favour, as it allowed the Faithful a fresh pair of eyes to spot suspicious behaviour. In fact, Kieran was a key player in helping the winners take down Wilfred and bag the cash prize for themselves, thanks to his iconic ‘parting gift’.
Coming back later in the game allows time for the group to be whittled down, which could get smaller quickly if things such as double murders take place.
However, this is three people rather than two – and if they were all brought back, it would be the biggest group we’ve ever seen on the UK edition of this series and a lot of Faithfuls to get through.
Therefore, there could be a bit of a shake-up this time around.
Why Fozia, Jack and Alexander could return as Traitors
One of the key elements of the game is the option to recruit a brand-new Traitor when another is banished – examples of contestants from last year include Andrew and Ross, though they were in the game from the beginning.
However, one thing they’ve never done is give the Traitors the option of picking somebody they don’t know well. One good twist would be to put Fozia, Jack and Alexander as the three choices to join the Traitors, with the other two entering back into the game as Faithfuls.
The Traitors would have little to know about how the new addition would gel with the group, which could make for a challenging game.
BBC/Studio Lambert
On the flip side, it may also throw off the rest of the group, as they may not suspect a returning contestant and instead focus on those they’ve been building up evidence against over the course of the game.
It would also mean that there weren’t as many Faithful, making for a more balanced game.
These two theories are the most probable scenarios… but what if there’s a third option?
Other ways Fozia, Jack and Alexander could return to The Traitors
The last we saw of Fozia, Jack and Alexander was them standing by the side of the train tracks… but what if they’ve been recruited to be on a secret task force?
The Traitors has been known to have big reveals in the past, and we now know that some missions are designed to make the Traitors and Faithful work against one another.
What if the past three contestants are working behind the scenes in some capacity to spice things up? Perhaps assigning shields to people or stealing money from the prize pot for themselves.
This is the most convoluted option, so therefore, the most unlikely… but you just never know with this wild show.
Episodes 1 and 2 of The Traitors season 3 are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. New episodes will drop on BBC One every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You can also read what we know about the Celebrity edition here.
