The Traitors’ finalist praises winner as ‘wonderful’ for splitting prize

The Traitors’ finalist Jack has admitted he was “hoodwinked” by traitor Stephen, but has praised his “wonderful character and his nature” after he chose to split the prize pot with his teammate during the series finale of the hit BBC show.

In an interview with The Press Association, the 29-year-old from Essex praised the traitor, even though he stopped him from winning the £95,750 cash prize in the dramatic episode on Friday.

The episode saw faithful Jack as the last contestant remaining in a face-off with traitors Stephen and Rachel, who stayed loyal to each other and voted him off the show so they could share the winnings.

Stephen, 32, had the opportunity to steal the prize from traitor Rachel, however remained faithful to the pact they made early on in the series – which saw them promise to never vote for each other.

Jack, who works as a personal trainer, said: “After watching the final episode, you can really see that Stephen had the game in the palm of his hand.

“He could’ve so easily been greedy and turned it on Rachel and gotten away with it. I feel as though it is just a testament to his wonderful character and his nature, that he stayed true to their bond and the promise they made.”

Speaking about being voted off the show, Jack said: “When Stephen flipped his board around like that, it was a testament to how phenomenal he played the game.

“I was so hoodwinked up into that very last moment when I saw my name on his slate.”

Jack said: “When you’re immersed in the game and your head’s still very much in there in the castle, you’re really angry you’ve lost in the final and can’t believe it.

“But after five minutes, you get brought back down to earth and remember, it’s just a game, and we’re all still friends.”

“Emotions run high, particularly at the end.”

He also admitted that had Stephen betrayed Rachel and turned on him, it would have “broken” him, and told PA: “I’m so much happier about the fact that I just got to walk out of the room in the way I did, rather than Stephen actually going for Rachel.

“Me and him standing there alone, with him having to tell me he was a traitor, that would have broken me.

“I think it’s nicer to see them share the pot together.”

Jack was the last faithful standing after his teammate Faraaz was voted off the show by the traitors in the final face-off around the Fire Of Truth, the point in the game where contestants can decide whether to end the game or keep banishing players.

Faraaz, 22, from Middlesbrough, said he was “absolutely buzzing” to have made the final, but revealed that he was “fuming” when he was voted out of the game and lost the final.

He said: “In the actual moment, when I saw Rachel had put my name on the slate, I was absolutely seething.

“I could feel the steam coming out my ears. I was fuming, and then I was gutted, kicking myself.”

He added: “I had a lovely moment of gratitude to myself, and I was so grateful. And it put me in a good mood.

“It’s funny, seeing it all back, knowing how I felt.”

He went on to describe the dual-win between the traitors as “the perfect outcome”, and said: “I’m really glad [Stephen] did share it. I’m really glad about the outcome, because they both deserved it – especially Rachel, she was so well-trusted, so well-liked, she navigated it really well.

“I think that outcome was – apart from me and Jack winning – the perfect outcome.”

Jade, a 25-year-old from the West Midlands, was also among the final contestants, and was the first player to leave during the nail-biting series finale.

On Friday night, viewers saw the PhD student betrayed by Stephen, who she grew close to during her time in the castle.

Jade was left in tears as she was voted off the show by Stephen during the last roundtable, however said she “respects” him for his choice.

She told PA: “I think it’s just part of the game, like you just have to respect the player, respect the game. That’s exactly what he was doing.

“I will always have so much respect for someone like that, because I’m a gamer at heart.

“I realised way too late that he was traitor. And then I was like, oh.”

Speaking about the traitors’ dual-win, she said: “They both deserve it. Well played to them.”

She went on to say Stephen was “so true to himself”, adding: “He’s so lovely, and he’s so personable, and I think those are just the characteristics you need as a traitor.”

During their time on the show, the contestants gathered for a dinner party, during which Jade confided in the players about her mother and half-sibling, who both died in 2018.

The 25-year-old said she has had a “complete outpouring of support” since appearing on the show, and said: “It has been so lovely.”

She also told PA that being on the show taught her a lot about herself, adding: “You go in and play a game like that, you do a lot of growth.

“You learn a lot about yourself. You learn about how you across and how you interact with other people, because it’s all about you and your characteristics.”