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The Traitors’ Fiona Hughes opens up about her time in the castle, working with Claudia Winkleman, being the first Secret Traitor, and her cunning plan to get everyone drunk

The first ever Secret Traitor, Fiona Hughes, has reflected on her experience in the castle and shared some behind the scenes secrets.

Fiona, 62, has reflected on her experience in the castle, becoming the show’s first ever Secret Traitor, collaborating with Claudia Winkleman, and earning the affectionate title of “hun”.

“I found it surreal really,” she recalled. “That I was there and on the train. I mean, that’s just magical in itself. Then when you get into the castle and it’s exactly as you see it on the television. It was wonderful. It’s awe, you just cannot speak because you’re in awe of everything.”

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During the fourth episode of the current series, viewers discovered that Fiona was concealed beneath the infamous crimson cloak. Reflecting on the twist, she confessed: “To be given the privilege of being selected as having the red cloak was wondrous, but I did feel as well that there came a lot of responsibility with it and a lot of power which went to my head,” reports Wales Online.

Explaining her strategy, she added: “But all the names I was sending up to the turret were names of people in that very brief introduction that we had. I thought they were people who came across to me as being, as looking and behaving like the most faithful people on earth that nobody would question.

“So that’s how their names ended up going on the list, and I was only hoping that when the names went up to the turret that the other traitors would be able to read my theory of why those names should be considered. I didn’t know whether or not they were, because the feedback was going up the turret, not coming down.

“Then of course, when Hugo was voted off, I lost my cloak, and so I had to go in to meet Rachel and Stephen. I was really excited about that, but I was also mindful that they’d had the opportunity to gel and so I was going in fresh and could be considered a bit of a thorn.

“You know they say twos company, threes a crowd, and I was going into an already formed relationship. I felt that I wasn’t welcome there, and that Rachel would be able to get me at some point. So because I had that feeling, hence that resulted in my firing the gun and spectacularly missing.”

Viewers were gutted when Fiona was banished following a tense roundtable, though she certainly made her exit memorable. In what ranks among the most explosive moments in The Traitors‘ history, Fiona turned against fellow traitor Rachel, accusing her of “fibbing” about information she’d supposedly heard from previously banished contestant Amanda.

Despite her exit, the Swansea woman stands by her choice to betray Rachel. She explained: “You want to do the best that you can and so I think I did.

“I fired a shot too early at Rachel, but I knew she’s such a fantastic player and that it was my only opportunity and I had to go for it then because I would have been banished and I wanted to do it on my terms and not be somebody’s pawn. So my cunning little plan did spectacularly backfire.

“I know it came out of the blue, and it was the only opportunity that I could see, well, the only one that had landed on my lap, and I thought, ‘shall I run with this or shall I not?'”

“Then I thought ‘no, I’ve got to do it now because I would have been pushed under the bus in the following episode or the episode after’. So, when I asked Rachel to come and have a little word with me, a little one-to-one, which I would do with anybody.”

She explained her approach: “Then I asked her, ‘are you fibbing?’ It’s a gentler word than lying, isn’t it? That doesn’t sound so nice, it’s much nicer to say, are you fibbing?”

Behind the scenes, she deployed a clever tactic that didn’t make the final edit. Whilst others unwound with drinks following tense roundtables, the former traitor remained sober and alert, instead devising a shrewd strategy to ply her competitors with alcohol.

She explained her strategy: “I wanted to get them drunk. Well, if they drink it they might wake up with a hangover and be a bit loose-lipped and I’d be able to manipulate them and I could glean some information from them. But I don’t think that worked. Another cunning ploy that failed.”

Fiona revealed what it was like working alongside The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman. She gushed: “Claudia, well, what can you say about Claudia? I mean, there’s an icon now, isn’t there? She is lovely. She is such a sweet person. I mean I love her mother, Eve Pollard. I love Eve Pollard.

“So, you know, the fact that Claudia is her daughter, Claudia’s going to be marvellous because Eve Pollard has been my heroine for so many years, since the 80s and everything she’s done since, you now? So to get to meet Claudia and know that she’s a spawn of Eve Pollard, that was great.

“But she is so lovely, and the way that she dresses is beautiful. I mean, you literally could put a black bag on that woman and she would look spectacular.”

Since appearing on the series, Fiona has been showered with praise and affectionately dubbed a “hun” by viewers – though she admits the term initially baffled her.

She chuckled: “Well, I thought hun meant honey, like, you know, in America. Where you say ‘honey, I’m home’, I thought it was that. When I spoke with my husband and said, ‘oh, on the radio today, they said I was a hun’, and I said,’ isn’t that lovely’. He said to me, ‘what’s that mean?’ and I said, ‘honey.'”

“But when I did a Google, oh my goodness, the explanation, I still don’t know what it really means, but I’ll take it.

“I just think people have been so gracious and kind and I really mean that. Swansea people are anyway, and Welsh people are, you know, we are full of heart and goodness. Even people in Ireland, Scotland and England have been really gracious and kind to me, and I think that sums up the country as a whole. You know, we are a United Kingdom and we tend to support one another, which is lovely, isn’t it.”

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