The Traitors: It’s Time We Talked About The Unconscious Bias At The Roundtables

Let me start by saying that I am one of the biggest The Traitors fans going. The show, which began in November 2022, has been a highlight of my winter for the last three years. I’ve thrown viewing parties, spent hours discussing it with friends, and generally consider myself number one in the Claudia Winkleman fan club.

For the uninitiated, The Traitors is a reality TV version of games like Mafia or Werewolf. The majority of the players are “the faithful,” who are trying to work together to win a big cash prize, while between one and four of them – “the traitors” – are secretly sabotaging the group, aiming to steal the cash for themselves.

Each of the UK version’s three seasons has gripped the nation. The first episode of season three was watched by an average audience of 5.1 million viewers, reaching a peak of 5.4 million. The finale for season three airs tonight, and I imagine will draw a record-breaking viewership.

Euan Cherry/BBC

But despite my love for The Traitors, it is by no means a perfect show. Every season, the contestants make judgements, assumptions, and banishments that are laden with social bias and prejudice. This isn’t necessarily their fault; it’s a symptom of the society we live in. Most of the contestants, I’m sure, are good and kind people. But in group scenarios – namely the roundtables – internalised misogyny, ageism, and racial prejudice can often come to the forefront.

Let’s start with the latter. This season, viewers watched with dismay as Dr Kasim Ahmed was wrongly accused and targeted by the group. On TikTok, creator Caz Simone commented, “I think there’s an element of micro-aggressive behaviour and subconscious/unconscious bias,” adding, “I’m not saying outright racism, but it’s about how we’ve been brought up in society to perceive what is trustworthy and what is not… To me, it was so obvious [Kas] was a faithful. A lot of other people were acting much shadier than Freddie and Kas.”