NI woman 'will do anything to win' as new Traitors series begins

Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the first episode of the new series of The Traitors.

A County Down woman, who is taking part in the new series of The Traitors, has said she "will do anything to win" the show's potential £120,000 prize pot.

Rachel Duffy, from Newry, is one of 22 contestants in the fourth series of the critically acclaimed BBC show, which kicked off on New Year's Day.

The 42-year-old, who works in strategic communications, described herself as a "sociable person that loves finding out things", but is also very competitive.

"I will do anything to win. Nothing's off the table," she said.

"I'm very good at knowing the difference between reality and a game.

"I'm really competitive in challenges, so I'll do whatever I can to get money in the bank."

During Thursday night's episode Rachel was chosen by host Claudia Winkleman at the round table as one of the show's three traitors, attempting to divide the remaining faithfuls to win the prize.

Set in the historic Ardross Castle in Scotland, those selected as traitors assemble in hooded cloaks in a designated, secret meeting place at the end of each day and select a contestant to "murder" that night. That person will then leave the game.

This year, a secret fourth traitor was selected - with their identity not known by the other traitors or the audience.

Rachel said she was delighted to be one of those chosen to deceive her fellow contestants.

"I really wanted this, and I was manifesting and just visualizing Claudia tapping my shoulder and then when she did, oh my God," she said during the first episode.

"I can't wait to 'murder' people, I'm so bad.

"I can't wait and I'm really looking forward to it."

She told Winkleman that she would use the prize money to take her three children and her mother, who has dementia, on a big trip away.

Rachel is the sister of the former Newry City football manager, Darren Mullen, who expressed shock at her appearance on social media.

"When your sister tells you she is going to England for a course for work and then you see this..." he posted on X.

Rachel's family hosted a watch party on Thursday as the first episode of the show aired.

On social media, Newry City AFC wished supporter Rachel "the very best of luck" as she takes part in the show.

Also taking part in this year's series is Matthew Hyndman, who is originally from Northern Ireland, but is now living in Edinburgh.

The 35-year-old creative director applied for the show as his New Year's resolution was to "have more adventures".

He also described himself as "really competitive", and that his strategy is to be himself "and build meaningful relationships".

But Matthew said that he is in it to win it.

"I'm a good person, and in normal life, if I saw someone in trouble on the street, I would be the first person that would step in to help them," he said.

"However, this is a game and I'm very capable of compartmentalising, so if I must get rid of someone because that's what the game's saying, I won't think twice about it, I'll just do it."

If he ended up winning the show, Matthew said he would buy a cottage in the Scottish Highlands and get married to his partner having campaigned for marriage equality in Northern Ireland.

"I think that's a better story for the last Round Table if I get there because it's not cool to go against the gay who wants to get married," he added.

"I think that I would probably say that I'm going to get married back home in Northern Ireland on my family farm, and then if I win, I might just have to do that."

Contestants take part in daily tasks, which can help them build up the prize fund - which this series is up to £120,000.

The majority of the show's 22 contestants are faithfuls, and it is their job to root out and banish the traitors at the end of each day.

While the audience at home is aware of everyone's identity - bar the secret traitor - the faithfuls do not know who is a fellow faithful and who is a traitor.

Every night there is a round table, where people can air their suspicions about who they believe is a traitor, before a vote is taken to banish someone and ending their time in the game.

The fourth regular series follows the hugely successful celebrity spin-off, which aired in the autumn and attracted 15 million viewers.

After the banishment, traitors then assemble in the cloaks and "kill" a faithful.

In order for the remaining faithfuls to win the money, all of the traitors must be eliminated before the game finishes.

However, if even one traitor remains, they will take home the prize.