As exceptional as this series of The Traitors has been (Shakespeare himself could never), we have to acknowledge that we’ve been watching something of a boys’ club unfold on our screens.
Paul and Harry were each giving main-character energy from the start, and it just made sense to shoulder-tap them into the Traitors’ turret. A move, we can all agree, that’s been the making of the second season of the record-breaking show (that’s currently trouncing ITV2’s Love Island: All Stars in the ratings).
Ash made up the initial three, doing it for us girls, but in an unfortunate turn of events she wasn’t very good at her job and ended up getting voted out fairly early on.
Since then, every new Traitor that’s been recruited has been a lad, lad, lad.
Even the show’s gloriously-invested host Claudia Winkleman couldn’t resist the quip, “Another man?”, when reigning Traitor Harry and his reluctant, confused sidekick Andrew declared that Ross would be the latest to join them.
Little did they know that Ross is… Rebekah Vardy’s account the son of Diane, whose untimely death came at the hands of Harry and his former cloaked accomplices Paul and Miles.
It was a delicious twist of fate for us watching at home, and further fuelled our appetite to see ‘Ar Mother’ Diane avenged. The BBC show’s decision to dedicate the best part of an episode to her farewell, complete with funeral procession, highlights what a loss they knew they had on their hands.
Related: The Traitors’ Paul wasn’t a villain but the hero we all needed
Then Harry put his foot in it when Ross tried to unearth exactly why Diane had been chosen for murder.
She was “put her in her place”, he said, because she’d been “getting too brave.”
While we’re sure this was far from Harry’s mind at the time – and we can’t fault the scene for giving us some gasp-worthy television – the notion of putting a woman ‘in her place’, particularly if she’s strong-willed or appears too opinionated, is as old as time.
There’s been an air of this throughout the current series of The Traitors, long before Claudia tangibly put it into words.
Had you noticed that every single murder victim bar the first – which sent Aubrey packing for a too-soon reunion with his feline friend Luther Vandross – has been a woman?
Kyra was the first, who even said herself that she believed her “outspoken” nature lead to her demise. Then there was Tracey, whose downfall seemed to rest on her flying under the radar – in the eyes of the Traitors, she was neither a big, influential personality, nor someone who was too quiet. Then there was Meg, who gets a pass given that Paul’s failed dungeon game plan left them with no choice but to sign her death notice.
We can hear you now: this is the name of the game. And we don’t for one moment believe that the residents of the castle banded together to consciously oust all the women one by one.
Related: Shop Claudia Winkleman’s Traitors’ outfits
But it’s a pattern that Winkleman (who as well as playing presenter, also wins the badge for biggest fan of the show) has herself branded “problematic”, without needing to point to a reason for it being so.
The latest to face the chop was Charlie – and you’d be forgiven for not actually knowing who she is. A running joke has permeated the series that two of the blonde women are in fact the same person, prompting a good-hearted response from Charlie herself.
While it could be read that they simply look alike, it also speaks to who the show has invited us to care about and invest in. With its women dropping like flies, and the Traitors – who we want to be watching, make no mistake about it – sticking to the guys, it makes it harder for the girls to get a look in.
Now if Diane does get revenge from beyond the grave and take the win (through Ross)? We couldn’t think of anything sweeter.
The Traitors series 2 airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. For further details, check out the Traitors series 2 release schedule.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK’s biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world’s oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).
