Claudia Winkleman’s place as a national treasure is safe and secure sine she became the host of The TraitorsWarning: This article contains major spoilers for the latest series of The Traitors UK.After four gripping weeks of double-crossings, jaw-dropping outbursts, quotable moments and no end of absolute serves from Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors is almost over for another year.This latest edition of the Bafta-winning reality series featured some of the most cunning Traitors in the show’s history – as well as some of the most dramatic moments the turret has ever housed.All that led us to thinking about all the Traitors from past UK seasons – and which of them were the most effective.With that in mind, here’s our ranking of all 22 contestants who’ve paid a visit to the turret on The Traitors UK, from least to most effective…22. Freddie (The Traitors season 3)Freddie’s stint as a traitor was short-lived, to say the leastOh, Freddie. You were not cut out for the life of a Traitor and we all knew it.Freddie, you may recall, was recruited as a sacrificial lamb by Charlotte in one of her final acts as a Traitor, before royally stitching him up and leading to his banishment.While he may not have ever actually wanted to be a Traitor, and he did make for some brilliant TV moments elsewhere on in his season, his inability to think on his feet and penchant for only talking his way into a bigger mess has put him at the bottom of our ranking.21. Ross (The Traitors season 2)Ross may not have lasted long as a traitor, but we commend him for managing to keep a secret from the rest of the castLike Freddie, Ross was chosen as a last-minute appointment because he was already under suspicion from the group, and lasted just one day as a Traitor before the group wound up showing him the door.We spared him from the bottom position of our list because he, at least, managed to keep one secret during his time in the show – the fact his mum is the legend, icon and diva that is Diane Carson.20. Hugo (The Traitors season 4)Hugo’s banishment marked the earliest a Traitor has ever been caught on the UK seriesHugo was a Traitor from the get-go on his season, quickly coming under suspicion from his castmates due to the fact that he’s a barrister (unbeknown to the rest of the group, there was also another former criminal barrister and detective in their midst, who perhaps more wisely chose to keep their professional backgrounds to themselves).Faced with this scrutiny, Hugo made the somewhat unorthodox decision at breakfast to put himself right in the spotlight by loudly condemning the Traitors for a murder he’d had more than a small hand.His overacting failed to convince the group, and he swiftly faced banishment just hours later, becoming the OG Traitor to be banished in the quickest time on the UK series.19. Ash (The Traitors season 2)Ash was the first of last year’s Traitors to be caught outThe first of the Traitors to be caught in 2024, Ash lasted five days of murdering before the heat on her became too much for the group to ignore, and she was given the boot.Awkwardly, a day earlier, both of her Traitor cohorts had turned on her at the round table, leading to a rather uncomfortable confrontation in the turret later that night.18. Armani (The Traitors season 3)Armani was the first of this year’s traitors to be banishedArmani had an interesting strategy on the 2025 season of The Traitors – basically making herself enough of a loud voice in the group that it would almost be too obvious to call her a Traitor.It worked – but only briefly, and she soon held the unenviable title of fastest OG Traitor to be caught out by the Faithful (or, at least, she did until Hugo the following year).Our favourite moment of Armani’s was her telling Linda and Minah how they could improve their game, only to be outed as a Traitor by the rest of the group less than 24 hours later.17. Andrew (The Traitors season 2)Andrew made it to the final day of The Traitors 2024Another unwilling and short-lived Traitor, Andrew had prided himself on his placement in the Faithful group for most of the series, before was given an ultimatum by Harry and lured to the dark side.In fairness to Andrew, he did make it all the way to the final day in the castle, but was sniffed out by the rest of the group, paving the way for Harry to take the whole grand prize for himself.16. Kieran (The Traitors season 1)Kieran’s “parting gift” made for brilliant TV in the first Traitors finaleAs another member of the one-day club (Kieran was recruited by Wilf at the eleventh hour because there was already heat on him), you might wonder why Kieran is so high on the list.However, while his stint as a Traitor might not have been particularly fruitful, his infamous “parting gift” for Wilf was so beautifully petty – not to mention integral in Wilf getting ousted from the group at the firepit, resulting in a rule change in future seasons – that we had to give him some kudos.15. Alyssa (The Traitors season 1)Alyssa was the first ever Traitor to be ousted by the FaithfulCompared to some of the more ruthless traitors from Alyssa’s season – we’re looking your way, Wilf and Amanda – you’d be forgiven for thinking that she was a bit of a wilting flower.However, she lasted a respectable six days before becoming the first ever Traitor to be banished from the UK show, when fellow Traitor Wilf threw her under the bus to try and take the heat off him at the roundtable.14. Linda (The Traitors season 3)Even if she wasn’t very convincing as a Traitor, Linda made for some excellent tellyLinda’s card was effectively marked when, one minute after taking her blindfold off, she inadvertently revealed herself as a Traitor in front of eventual winner Jake, who never let it go the entire time she was in the castle.After that, she fuelled the fire herself with suspicious behaviour and some serious overacting.Why, then, isn’t she further down our ranking? Well, because despite being the second most blatant Traitor in the show’s history (sorry, Freddie), she still managed a full week in the competition before the group finally booted her out. Iconic behaviour.13. Miles (The Traitors season 2)Miles’ murder of Diane made for one of the most iconic Traitors moments everMiles was specifically targeted for recruitment by the original Traitors because of his popularity within the group, and managed to skate by unnoticed for a good few days.However, his undoing came with one of the most iconic moments in Traitors history, when he was forced to murder Diane in plain sight, handing her the poisoned chalice that would eventually lead to his own banishment.12. Fiona (The Traitors season 4)Fiona didn’t exactly go out in a blaze of glory – but we’re unlikely to forget her any time soonFiona made history as The Traitors UK’s first ever “Secret Traitor”, and once her identity was finally revealed to viewers, it seemed like her place as the grande dame of the turret was set in stone.That didn’t quite work out, though, did it?We’re still not exactly sure what Fiona’s motivation for outing Rachel as a Traitor in front of everyone was, but it backfired spectacularly, even if TV gold was made in the process.11. Stephen (The Traitors season 4)Stephen was appointed a Traitor on day one – and made it all the way to the final week of episodesConsidering quite how long OG Traitor Stephen managed to last in the castle while only ever picking up a sprinkling of roundtable votes, you might be wondering why we haven’t got him higher up this ranking.But even though Stephen has obviously had staying power on his season, there’s no getting round the fact he did drop some strategic clangers during his time in the castle, and we’d be interested to see whether or not he’d have endured for quite so long had he not had fellow Traitor Rachel to help him clear up some of his messes.Great jumpsuit, though. We can’t argue with that.10. Paul (season 2)Paul relished in killing off his fellow contestants during his time as a TraitorMore than a year later, we’re still a little puzzled as to how Paul lasted so long in the castle when so many people were pointing him out as an obvious traitor.That – as well as the little bow he did on his way out the door – are why we’ve got him in the upper echelon of UK Traitors.9. Jonathan Ross (Celebrity Traitors season 1)Jonathan Ross was under suspicion throughout his time in the castle – but managed to cling on for an impressive amount of timeAs was the case with Paul, Jonathan Ross had eyes on him throughout his time in the castle, although he managed to fend off the heat for a seriously impressive amount of time.By the time his luck ran out, the talk show host has made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t exactly enjoying being so deceitful, which is probably why he ended up becoming the first Traitor on the celebrity series to be caught out.8. Amanda (season 1)Amanda is the OG Traitors hunThe original Traitors hun managed to slip by unnoticed for 10 whole episodes, all while killing people off with the unbothered ruthlessness that only an estate agent could pull off.Who could forget her iconic blue manicure, her impeccable pep talks or the time she gave Wilf a stern reminder about “what is on the flag of Wales”?7. Minah (season 3)Minah could have gone all the way – were it not for a last-minute addition to the “sisterhood”Oh Minah, you were doing so well.Like Amanda before her, Minah managed to sail under the radar for the most part by being everyone’s friend and keeping her mouth shut unless called on, all while gleefully picking the group off one by one in the turret.Even when she was under suspicion, Minah managed to bat off accusations – that is until she met her match in Charlotte, missing out on the final by just two short days.6. Charlotte (season 3)Charlotte was the last Traitor standing this yearWe get it, Charlotte’s methods might not be to everyone’s tastes, but let’s not forget that everyone on that line-up signed up for a show called The Traitors, and she played the game more gleefully than anyone who came before her (made even more jarring by the fact that she often did it dressed more like a member of The Wiggles than a low-key machiavellian).The fact that she did all of this with a fake Welsh accent only adds to what made her such a stand-out on this year’s series.5. Wilf (season 1) Wilf was the first Traitor to make it all the way to the finalKicking off our top five, Wilf had a rollercoaster time in the castle, being made a Traitor on day one and repeatedly being forced to charm his way out of the hotseat, while keeping his most vocal accusers (namely Maddie) around simply to avoid suspicion.It’s impossible to know whether Aaron, Meryl and Hannah would actually have wound up walking away with the money by banishing Wilf were it not for Kieran pointing the finger at him before his own banishment, but it’s definitely within the real of possibility that he could have gone all the way.4. Cat Burns (Celebrity Traitors season 1)Cat Burns made it all the way to the final before being banished by her teammatesShe may not have won, but singer-songwriter Cat Burns made it all the way to the very last roundtable of The Celebrity Traitors, after being handed her cloak by Claudia on her very first day in the castle.In the end, though, the suspicion around her on the last day of the series became too much, and the group gave her the axe, clearing the way for Alan to scoop the whole prize fund for himself.Had Joe Marler only carried out his plan in a different order, it could have been Cat who emerged triumphant in that dramatic finale.3. Rachel (The Traitors season 4)Rachel from the 2026 series is undoubtedly one of the most successful Traitors the show has ever seenOh, Rachel…Until the eleventh hour, no one in Traitors history had ever successfully dodged bullets quite like Rachel.First, fellow Traitor Fiona came for her in front of the entire cast, with Rachel managing to keep her cool and deflect enough that the whole thing was all but forgotten the next day.And just a few days later, Harriet began gathering evidence pointing to Rachel’s guilt, only for her “kamikaze” mission at the roundtable to backfire, leaving little-to-no suspicion around Rachel even after she proved her own innocence to the group – all while keeping Stephen out of trouble, too.Unfortunately, with just days left of the series, it looked like she had been rumbled by Faraaz, and the penultimate episode of the season ended with her fate hanging in the balance as two successive banishment vote draws were left up to chance.Depending on how things play out in the final, we may well have to move her up or down our ranking, but for now, we’re quite happy to give her the bronze medal.2. Alan Carr (Celebrity Traitors season 1)It felt like Alan Carr was about to be named a Traitor at any moment… yet it somehow never happenedAll these months later, and we’re truly still baffled as to how exactly Alan Carr managed to pull the wool over his fellow contestants’ eyes.From the moment he was selected as a Traitor by Claudia, his inability to refer to himself as a Faithful without bursting out laughing, his frequent poor choice of words and – by his own admission – his near-constant perspiration made him a rather blatant pick for suspicion.Even when Joe Marler had him rumbled, Alan somehow managed to turn the tables, eventually convincing David Olusoga and Nick Mohammed enough of his innocence to get them to stop the game, resulting in the most emotional Traitors final to date.1. Harry (The Traitors season 2)Harry walking away with the prize money made for the most shocking Traitors finale everIt was touch and go in the last week of his season, but Harry eventually made history as the first Traitor from the UK franchise to walk away with the prize money.From the moment we saw his smirk when chosen by Claudia in that very first episode, it was clear that “Traitor” was a role he was born to play, eventually picking off his fellow players – including other traitors – over the course of the series, before dealing his pal Mollie the ultimate blow and running off with the money for himself.All four seasons of The Traitors – plus the first series of Celebrity Traitors – are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now.MORE THE TRAITORS:All The Stars Who’ve Been Rumoured For The Celebrity Traitors Season 2 So FarThe Traitors Cast Keep Using 1 Phrase That Fans Hate – We Asked Experts WhyThis Is How Long The Traitors Roundtables Really Last – And No Wonder Everyone Cries9 Famous Faces Who Turned Down The Chance To Be On The Celebrity Traitors HuffPost UK – Athena2 – All Entries (Public) Read More