Sonja
Age: 66
Job title: Volunteer Business Mentor
Location: Lancashire

Why did you apply to be on The Traitors?

I wanted to do something this year that would challenge me and test all of my abilities. Whether that be physical or mental, and I could use some of the experiences I’ve had in the past. I just want to be challenged, excited and I want some adrenaline. I’ve had a difficult few years so have thought right, let’s go for it and do something a bit crazy and exciting. I wouldn’t do anything except The Traitors. It’s so interesting, complicated, thoughtful and devious. It’s right up my street! It’s the first thing I’ve ever applied for, and here I am.

What did you think of the first series?

Absolutely loved it, I thought it was fantastic. I was expecting it to be like other things I’d seen, mildly interesting but it was gripping. Claudia was just amazing too. I love the way the paranoia sets in and how what seems to be a simple game turns into life changing, emotional situations, genuine feelings of animosity, fear, doubt – the whole thing was just fascinating to me. I’m qualified in social science, that’s the study of how societies interact. I was absolutely fascinated after series one, I’ve watched all the other versions as well.

Was there anyone’s game plan you admired?

I thought Amanda was very good. Very practical, pragmatic and didn’t promote herself too much. Wilfred, I loved because he was tortured, you know, and Theo was hilarious. So not one person in particular but I just thought they were standout characters who were amazing.

Do you have a game plan?

Yes, I have a game plan. My game plan is to knit my way to the finals. I’m an avid knitter. What I hope to do genuinely is knit while I’m thinking. Also, you can knit recycled fishing nets and recycled plastic bottles, so it’s great for the environment. I actually want to teach some of the other tortured souls how to do a bit of knitting while we’re there too.

What do you think you’ll bring to the game?

In my career, I’ve been a business negotiator. My last role, until I had to stop work during the pandemic, was as an International Vice President for a big global company. So, I’m used to big stakes, big ticket negotiations in very challenging environments with cultural variations. I think that will serve me well.

Most importantly, my son, Dan, who died two years ago, was severely disabled with autism and other disabilities, and was nonverbal. Dan died at the age of 41. So, I spent 41 years understanding nonverbal hints and cues from Dan. I think those three things and my knitting hopefully, will take me to the final. I can say I’m really, really motivated to do this because of Dan. It is actually very difficult to get the right things, the right services, and the right care for people like Dan, and I want to promote better care for people who can’t actually speak up for themselves. I would like to start a charity, after The Traitors, aimed at knitting in the community for young people to be together.

Dan was so very brave. He had so many headwinds, but he was just fearless in everything he tried. I said to myself that I need to do something completely fearless, at least once a year. This is my first one… so who knows where it will go?

If you are a Traitor, how do you think you’ll feel?

I’m really hoping I’ll be a Traitor. I think I’ve got the mental resilience to cope. Having looked at the programme, I can see it’s much more challenging than you think it’s going to be. But I think I’ve got this toolkit of ways to negotiate with people and ways to get the best out of people. I think when you negotiate, it isn’t about doing a good deal just for your company or yourself. It’s about a win-win. So, everybody gets something good.

I think I’m going to find a way to get the best information out of people without upsetting them, and just be totally devious and use that information to murder and manipulate. I think I’m a bit of a crowd pleaser as well, not intentionally, but I seem to amuse people, often by mistake, but who cares. I think that accidental crowd pleasing might serve me well in my undercover activities. I’m looking forward to it, I just want to be a secret guided missile and knit two, pearl two, kill one!

Would you say you’ve got a good poker face?

Yes, I think I have. In doing such complex negotiations with my job, I’ve had to not let up. You’re with people day and night, away from home, in a foreign country often in negotiations, and you can’t let anything slip. I remember having to have my game face on, every minute of the day.

If you are a Traitor, how far are you prepared to go to win the game?

It is a game so obviously I’m going to be two-faced. I’m going to lie convincingly but I’m not going to upset people. Even if I wrongly point someone out at the Round Table, there’s many ways to do that without being upsetting, harmful or hurtful. I am going to definitely go all the way, there is nothing really that I won’t do other than upset somebody to win. There are many ways to beat somebody and mislead somebody without upsetting them.

If you’re a Faithful, what do you think your game plan would be?

I’ll just be devious really. I’ll turn it on its head, I’ll be the most devious Faithful you can be. I think there are almost as many opportunities as a Faithful to mislead people, to lie, to misrepresent and to confuse. I would hope to be able to identify the Traitors and make them think I am safe and not to be worried about, you know? I think my biggest challenge might be being slightly older than some people, they may not consider me a major contribution to the Missions. I’m going to do them, I’ll fling myself everywhere, they can dangle me off anything, I’ll jump off anything, I’ll do it all but I’m not sure I’ll do it as well as others. I’m going to be fearless and chuck myself out there.

How good are you at spotting a liar?

I think I’m pretty good at spotting a liar. Because I know myself when I’m not lying, but misleading and moving a situation to place a better advantage for me. I know the things I have to watch out for that I’m doing. It’s very hard to sustain a lie. I tend to lie by omission, by omitting key facts people will fill them in themselves, and then you haven’t actually lied and it’s easier to remember. I think my tells would be that I say way too much. I might give a bit too much detail, more information that you need, and you only really need to say a couple of words if you’re telling the truth.

If you are a Faithful, what qualities do you think you’re going to need to make it through to the final?

I’d have to be equally devious if I were a Traitor. I don’t see it as the warm, cosy sort of wooly cardigan part of the game at all, I actually think you’ve got to be very much on your mettle. People turn on a sixpence, you know, and also the Traitors are there to compel other people and some of them have been excellent at doing that. So, I think I need to be sort of mildly friendly with everybody. I don’t want anybody to be my best buddy and I don’t want anybody to think I’m absolutely terrible. I’m going to be a big presence there and I bet a lot of people will say “I want to sink into the background” but I will be present and noisy. I want to feel a bit comforting to most people, even the baddies, the Traitors.

If you win the prize money, what do you think you’ll spend it on?

I would like to start my charity. Bringing the knitting of recycled materials to young people in difficult situations. It would be fantastic to have Tom Daley and Harry Styles as charity ambassadors too, both lovers of knitwear and excellent role models. I would also like to take my sister on a cruise.

In this nail-biting psychological reality competition, Claudia Winkleman greets 22 strangers as they arrive at a beautiful castle in the Scottish Highlands to play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

But hidden amongst them are the Traitors whose job is to secretly murder a player every night, without getting caught.

It’s up to the others, the Faithfuls, to try to detect who the traitors are, and banish them from the game, before they become their next victim.

For the lucky ones who survive to the end, they have the chance of winning that life-changing cash. But if a Traitor remains undetected, they’ll steal all the money.

The Traitors returns on Wednesday 3 January from 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and episodes 2 and 3 will be available on iPlayer immediately after. The show will air on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.