Brighton detective joins BBC show’s fourth series

A former police detective says she “really wants to have fun” on The Traitors ahead of the start of the fourth series.

Amanda, from Brighton, said she “learned a lot about being deceptive, devious and cunning” during her time as a detective chief inspector and wanted to use those skills to get ahead on the TV game show.

The 57-year-old, now retired, said she plans to “be myself, try not to stick out but equally not be too quiet” as she joins 22 other people from across the UK fighting to win up to £120,000.

The first episode of the new series begins at 20:00 GMT on BBC One and iPlayer.

Amanda said: “My pace of life may have changed but I definitely do still have that competitive spirit in me.

“I think in this game there are so many on the hoof, dynamic situations that require you to make very quick decisions and my game plan is to almost not have a game plan.”

Amanda, who described herself as “really competitive”, said watching the show had made her think it was something she “could win”.

Since retiring from the police force, she added that she had become a volunteer helping people with disabilities or conditions such as dementia by helping take them out and “bring the outside world to them”.

If she were to win, Amanda said she would donate a portion of her winnings to a charity supporting people with pulmonary hypertension after her brother died from the disease in 2011, as well as take her mother and sisters on holiday.

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors sees the group split into Faithfuls and Traitors, with the former looking to find the latter before the traitors can “murder” them.

The fourth regular series follows the success of the celebrity spin-off, headed by Joe Marler, Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross, Celia Imrie and Sir Stephen Fry among others, which attracted 15 million viewers.

In the last regular series, Rye-based interior designer Francesca Rowan-Plowden reached the final of the TV show but came short of winning.