The Traitors is finally back on our screens, and we couldn't be happier! Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the opening episode changed everything we thought we knew about the game's format with a major twist.
During the contestants' train journey to the castle, they were stopped, with Claudia announcing that there were three too many contestants on the train, and that three people needed to get off the train to earn £10,000 for the others - and that their journey on the show would end there.
With the groups split across three carriages, they all were quick to discuss how to choose who was leaving, with three people - Fozia, Jack and Alexander - eventually offering to sacrifice themselves to earn money for the other contestants. It took just three minutes, banking £7,000 for the other contestants.
Fozia, Jack and Alexander were left stranded by the side of the train as the others left to play the game, and admitted to the cameras that they were gutted to have exited the game so early - while also clearly regretting their decisions to go.
© BBC / Studio LambertThe show did something similar in season one, where Amos and Kieran were told to leave the game immediately at the beginning after ranking themselves the least likely to win. However, they returned to the castle a few episodes later, having rejoined the cast - with Kieran managing to make it to the final five. So could the train trio follow suit?
While we don't know for sure, we think all indicators point to the answer, sadly, being no - and that their chance to play the game genuinely came to an end after they left the train.
Almost all versions of the show has played with only 20-22 contestants, with the UK version consistently having 22 contestants throughout the three seasons. With Fozia, Jack and Alexander out of the competition, 22 contestants remained to travel to the castle.
© BBC / Studio LambertShould the trio rejoin the group at some point, it would be the highest number of contestants ever to have played the game - with Australia being the highest with 24 contestants. As such, despite our hopes to see the gang return to have their shot at winning the impressive prize pot, we really think it is the end of the line for the three of them. Pun intended.
Claudia also spoke about how she enjoyed how brutal the moment was. During a Q&A, she explained: "I like it at the beginning. Does that sound mean? Because this is what the game is.
"The faster they go, 'Oh okay,' the better… The first meeting I had was when they asked me to do it… they said, 'You have to send two people home.' I just refused. I was like, 'I can't!' And they were like, 'You have to.' And now I'm like, 'What are we going to do, push them OFF the train?'"
The first two episodes of The Traitors are available to watch on iPlayer
