The Traitors finale was a cruel spectacle

Blame Covid. That’s the origin of the BBC’s hit game-show, The Traitors. Workplaces are still deserted as people sit in their kitchens tapping away at their laptops but they crave the drama of office politics. This show lays on conspiracies and intrigues galore. The setting is a quaint old Scottish castle where a random group of players compete to win a pile of cash. Each contestant is ordered to tell the truth but a small number are given permission to cheat. These roles are assigned in secret, which fosters an atmosphere of fraud and mistrust. It’s a paradise for crooks and cut-throats. The castle is sprawling with side-parlours and shadowy drawing rooms where conspiracies can be hatched and strategies discussed as the contestants try to identify the ‘traitors’ among them. The precise order of play is rather hard to grasp, and some of the rules seem to be improvised on the spot to create fresh opportunities for mendacity, nastiness and greed.