Traitorgate
Words / Lou Andrews and Ash Bibi
SPOILER ALERT – This article contains some BIG Season Two spoilers!
Traitor’s Season Two Traitor, Ash Bibi, talks slaying, shields and (kind of) strategy...
In a battle arena predominantly influenced by reality TV shows, one series is emerging from the darkness as a clear winner. With the final season’s sword dropped and cloaks abandoned, let’s take a look at the new king of the battlefield…the Traitors!
I must admit that The Traitors is now a firm TV favourite of mine and I indulgently binged my way through the second UK series like it was a tub of Pringles! With crumbs left in the bottom of the tin, I’m left contemplating the parallels that this programme presents to real-life and maybe that’s why we all love it so much. It could be any one of us, and the thing is there’s no game play or fakeness either…because everyone is playing the same game and everyone knows from the start what that game is! It’s refreshingly open and sneakily underhanded all at the same time. Are we looking for a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a sheep in wolf’s clothing? Or maybe just a lamb to the slaughter! It’s a perfectly blended palette!
As you watch the game unfold, it’s like watching a scene from one of the Final Destination movies! You try to shout at the screen to warn people of the impending doom, but they can’t hear you. All is lost and you find yourself frustratingly thinking, ‘how can you not see that?!’. Love it.
Now, whilst it may be named The Traitors, there is nothing fiendish about this game. It’s not like other reality shows whereby people’s looks or characters are under constant scrutiny – along with their frame of mind. No, while contestants can be visibly affected at times, there is quick recovery because it’s not a personal thing. It’s about playing the game. Nobody is really being themselves because, well, that’s the idea. The whole thing can be swayed at any given minute by chance or opportunity.
What’s also refreshing is the cast is not made up from reality TV stars…or friends of reality TV stars (as far as we know!). Far from it. It’s built around real people just like you and me. We have had such a variety of players from chess coaches, business mentors, teachers and even clairvoyants. The latter proves that even the spirit world is no match for one key human trait…peer pressure. You see, it doesn’t really matter whether you are a brutal backstabber or a manipulating master. That alone won’t win you the game. We all have different tools in our tool kits, but how you choose to use those tools is up to you. Everyone is therefore in with a chance. There is one aspect though that IS key…just as in life, you have to forge relationships. Relationships built on loyalty and trust – at least until you get closer to the end. You watch as people form cliques, and these cliques highlight the most popular people – the key players. Once this phase is in place, human nature takes over and peer pressure rears its sneaky head. The number of times a player has said the correct name of a traitor and then been strategically swayed by the masses to vote for someone else! That primal survival instinct that we all have is being ignored. Yes folks, I’m talking about ‘gut feeling’! This happens in real life too. How many times have you done something, only to find out it was the wrong choice, and then realised your first thought was right all along?
Season two of The Traitors was no different. No less than four faithfuls were thrown under the bus before a Traitor was finally axed…and, even then, that was because the other traitors were forcing the hand that way! That first Traitor was Ash Bibi and what I didn’t realise was that she worked at my workplace! (see, I told you they were just like you and me!). I therefore have the (extremely exciting) pleasure to talk slaying, shields and strategy with the first lady herself...
So, before we start Ash, I want to ask about that very questionable Instagram video you posted of Harry, Paul and Miles doing the electric slide to Dancing Queen! It cracked me up! What was that all about?!
You know what, I deliberately put that music on top of the original <laughs>. Because they were actually dancing to Candy, I think it was, and I just thought it’d be funny!
It was comedy genius! I looked at that and I was like, ‘what on earth?!’ <laughs>. The first question I wanted to ask you is what made you apply for The Traitors? Did you watch it and then go, ‘oh I’d really like to have a go at that’?
There’s a game that we used to play on Zoom with friends every single week during lockdown called Werewolf and someone mentioned there was this show called The Traitors that had come on. I hadn’t heard of it. I hadn’t even watched it when it first came out, but everyone was talking about it, they were like, oh my God it’s like a real-life werewolf and it’s in a castle in Scotland! And I’m like, that sounds a bit weird. But I thought, ‘okay, I’m just going to watch this thing that everyone keeps going on about’…and I was hooked <laughs> With the Traitors, it was very different to me. I think when I watched it, it didn’t feel like regular reality TV. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I watched it because everyone was going on about it...and I ended up binge watching it. I swear I didn’t get out my bed for like a week! <laughs>
I watched it twice! It’s brilliant!
Oh, I would say it’s harder to be a Traitor, because there’s just another added layer of what you’ve got to do. There’s another added level of stress.
So, having watched it before, did that help with your strategy? And what was your strategy? Did you have one? (Ash laughs aloud!) … You didn’t have one, did you? <laughs>
What strategy? <laughs> Hindsight is an interesting thing, isn’t it? Because I look back and I’m like, ‘damn, why didn’t I just have a strategy’? <laughs> I was thinking, what’s the point of having a strategy? Because surely strategy is based on the interaction that you’re gonna have with other people? But how do you know what that interaction is gonna be when you don’t even know who the people are? But I should have done what Paul did in a way. His strategy was to play this character and he stayed in that the whole time! But yes, there was no strategy! <laughs>
Do you think it’s harder to be a Traitor or faithful?
Oh, I would say it’s harder to be a Traitor, because there’s just another added layer of what you’ve got to do. There’s another added level of stress. But I can imagine as a faithful, you are thinking like, ‘well who can I trust?’. And then on top of that you’re thinking, ‘well are they going to kill me tonight?’.
Do you think people really do go to bed at night and go ‘am I gonna get killed?’. Because you hear some people say ‘well, I was awake all night!’ Do they really get that worried about it?
Yes. I mean, I think sometimes it’s hard to switch off, isn’t it? Because you’re just constantly thinking ‘what’s going to happen?’. I think even though I was a Traitor, my mind was constantly racing. I now think, ‘why wasn’t I just thinking more strategically?’. <laughs>
What’s the point in hindsight Ash <laughs>. You know what I’ve really noticed about this show is it’s not necessarily about the strategy. It’s about changing and adapting to the people you are with and the constant changes. Early on in this series, both Harry and Paul quickly formed tight bonds with everyone in the group, making them hard to go up against.
That’s something that even watching back now, I’m really surprised at myself! Because usually in regular life, that is what I’m like. I could never have predicted how I was going to react in that situation. If I think about it, my strategy was to just be myself. <laughs>. So, I think I just genuinely surprised myself. And if I’m really honest, there’s a part of me that’s really kicking myself for not having one!
If I think about it, my strategy was to just be myself. <laughs>. So, I think I just genuinely surprised myself.
Do you know what, you say that Ash, but as a viewer from the early days, both me and my Mrs wanted you to win!
Did you?
Yes. And it was purely because you were being yourself. You had the big characters of Harry and Paul who were quite confident. But with you, you weren’t going ‘Oh, I’m going to win’ and I quite liked that!
Oh, oh, thank you <laughs>
What I wanted to ask you, is…when you initially saw your fellow Traitors (Paul and Harry), you said you were very, very, very happy with who your fellow Traitors were... Do you still feel that way?! <laughs>
<laughs> Of course. No, I do. Because you know what, they were brilliant. Sometimes when you meet people, you are just drawn to their energy. Paul was one of the first people that I saw. And I was just drawn to his energy. You could see that from the show. He’s genuinely a nice person.
Yeah, and this is what’s brilliant about the Traitors. It’s a game essentially, but what I love about it is it’s not about judging someone’s looks, personality etc. It’s just normal people going in there and playing a game…and I think that’s what’s genius about this program. So, Paul and Harry voted for you quite early on. How shocked were you at that? And how did you deal with that?
I mean, I think the look on my face said it all! <laughs> I was thinking to myself, ‘when did this happen? How did they decide this?’. And all I could think to myself was they’ve clearly been communicating somehow! And I’m like, ‘I’m gonna have to be careful here!’.
I mean, there was certainly a lot of swearing in that Traitors Tower scene afterwards! <laughs>, but did you really trust them after that?
No, of course I didn’t. I didn’t trust them at all! <laughs>. But I’m thinking to myself, ‘well, what’s the point of me continuing to be angry and continuing this argument?’. Because that’s not going to resolve anything. Right? All I can do now is carry on. And you know, they’re giving me their explanations and I’m thinking, ‘yeah, all right, love, whatever, you just throw me under the bus!’. <laughs>
After that was the whole prison thing, do you regret that decision? Because it could have gone either way.
I’m gonna give you my thought process of me going in the dungeon, because we didn’t have a lot of time, it was kind of sprung upon us! We are in the middle of thinking about who we’re going to kill…and then Claudia comes in and I’m like, ‘oh, what now?!’. My initial thought was, ‘there’s no way I’m going down there’ <laughs>, but then immediately Paul volunteered, and, in my mind, I was thinking, ‘he’s the mastermind behind this, so I need to be where he is ‘coz, I can’t allow him to control the narrative!’. That was my only logic. If I hadn’t have gone down there, it could have been completely different.
Yeah, totally. Let’s talk about Ross and Diane. I mean we are obviously watching it, so we knew, but how shocked were you and the others because they played a blinder?!
That must have been so difficult! I mean, you are in there with your mum, and you can’t even call her mum <laughs>. That’s difficult in itself! Honestly, I was absolutely gobsmacked! I genuinely was. The first thing I did was text Ross. I was like, ‘what the hell?!’. <laughs>. Some people were like, ‘oh, we see the resemblance now’. And I’m like…’I still don’t see the resemblance!’.
So good! <laughs> The other thing I wanted to talk about is Brian. What was that all about? I mean, poor Brian, because let’s face it, he wasn’t going to be voted out until he had that crazy outburst <laughs>
He wouldn’t have been! And I think that thing that happened during the days task just kind of stayed with him. Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I mean he fed himself to the lions! I was thinking ‘what are you doing? Stop. Stop talking’. <laughs>
Yeah <laughs>.
So, let’s talk about peer pressure in the game. My question is, if they did a silent disco challenge prior to the votes (so no-one could discuss), how dramatically do you think that would change the votes?
<laughs>. Maybe. I mean if you look at our season, in the beginning, most of the time the votes were so like spread out - apart from with my vote, which most of the people voted for me. There was one really genius moment with Harry around the round table, when he starts discussing exactly what we discussed in the Tower and he’s making it sound like it was his thought process that came up with it! Just the way he played that was brilliant.
Since you’ve finished filming, who have you remained in contact with?
All of them really. When the final aired, we were all out together. It’s really difficult because everybody lives in a different part of the country, but when we can see each other, we will. This sounds so soppy, but I love everybody! <laughs>.
Let’s talk about Jaz for a bit because, for me, that guy played an absolute blinder! Early on there were suspicions on Jaz, but from the point in which he realized that Harry was a Traitor, he basically went under the radar, and I thought that’s genius!
And you know what was clever of Jaz is that he tested the waters first didn’t he? He put Harry’s name out to his closest people to see how they reacted. And when he didn’t get the response that he wanted, he decided not to voice that at the round table, so he went under the radar.
It was great because for the first time, you could see on Harry’s face that he did not have a clue Jaz was on to him! It did lead me to think that if anyone else other than Molly had been at in that final three, could Jaz have actually won?
He could have. It’s interesting talking about what could have happened. What if the two other Traitors weren’t Paul and Harry? Or what if it was Harry and somebody else? Miles may not have been bought in. Any slight change can shift the entire dynamic.
She does have the best hair! <laughs> And she looks amazing. She’s so lovely. And every time you see her, she always comes up and gives everyone a big hug and asks if you are alright?
Absolutely. Now, everyone’s going to want to know this one…what is Claudia like? Did you get to have a bevvy with Claudia after the show?
Sadly, not a bevvy! We chat obviously during the day, like when she’s around and stuff. Something that really surprised me about her (which I absolutely loved) is that she’s so quirky. <laughs>. And she’s hilarious! I didn’t realize how funny she was.
I can imagine that actually! We only get to see the role she’s playing, and she plays it so well! But more importantly…is her hair as amazing as it looks on screen? <laughs> How is it so glossy? I mean, how does she do that? <laughs>
She does have the best hair! <laughs> And she looks amazing. She’s so lovely. And every time you see her, she always comes up and gives everyone a big hug and asks if you are alright? Even on Instagram, if you send her a message, she always responds!
You know what, that’s amazing. And this is what I’m talking about. It’s getting the right mix on a show and when you have a presenter that cares and talks to people, you get that really nice, open dynamic. Another thing The Traitors have got right! So, what are your plans next Ash?
Well, you know what, since I was a child, I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I wanted to be an actor or presenter, but it took a back seat because you know, you have bills to pay etc. I’ve been doing some interviews since The Traitors and it’s made me think ‘oh my God, I actually really love this’. I think presenting would be fun, so I’m currently doing an intensive presenting course and possibly looking for agents!
So, there you have it, a very interesting insight from the lovely Ash Bibi, but what has the traitors taught us about ourselves? Well for one, it’s that relationships are a core function to any process. Without that foundation how can you ever expect to build a solid house? And secondly, be more YOU, because essentially that is what will win you life’s battles. Don’t be swayed so easily. You’ve got this. If your gut is telling you something, then maybe for once listen to it! You may just be tussling with a Traitor!