Traitors' Rayan shares key to Harry's downfall and biggest complaint about show
Rayan Rachedi was allocated Faithful in the original series of the BBC's hit show The Traitors but if he could do his time again, he 100 per cent would choose to be a Traitor.
He argues you have a better chance of making it to the final as you can control the narrative, which many viewers believe is the case for this year's Andrew Jenkins and Harry Clark - the latter of whom is continuing to put on a convincing performance following his accomplice Paul's brutal banishing.
As the second series comes to a dramatic close this week, we ask Rayan all about the behind-the-scenes filming and his biggest complaint of the show. He also lifts the lid on an unaired scene which involved crucial evidence he and other players used to banish Alyssa Chan, as well as why he thinks one of the latest series' strongest players Harry is setting himself up for a fall.
The 26-year-old self-confessed 'gameplayer' told the Mirror: "I wanted to be a Traitor because it allows you to just create chaos and drama and I would have loved to have a bit of fun with that."
Rayan has his say on this year's series of The Traitors (Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Ima)
Rayan realised Alyssa was a Traitor and provided evidence against the player at the Roundtable - which was never aired (Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Ima)"I think being a Traitor is hugely beneficial: you have the power to murder, you have all of the information, and you can drive the game. As a Faithful, you're a bit of an unwilling passenger - you have to toe a really fine line between being good enough to stay in the game and convincing your fellow Faithfuls not to banish you, and between not being too good or you'll get banished.
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"In the first series, I really tried to toe that line by being quiet and it is one of my biggest regrets: I'm actually naturally quite outspoken and I really tried to downplay that as a Faithful."
Rayan, who lied about being a lawyer in the game, was told he could tell two people that he was part of the show, so he let his best mates in on the secret, however he couldn't bring himself to come clean to his mum. "I didn't want her to find out because I knew she'd be really annoyed at me for doing this. I pretended I had jury service in Scotland for 2 weeks," he admitted.
Dreaming up the best strategy for a player, he said it would be the classic 'keep your friends close and enemies closer.' "And throw my fellow Traitors under the bus to end the game as a lone wolf - and I think that's pretty close to what Wilf did, and that got him to the final," he added.
The filming schedule was full-on, with Rayan, who discusses the show on his podcast It's Just A Game with Wilf and Ivan, away from his job for around a fortnight. It's exactly how we see it on TV - they wake up, have breakfast, do a challenge during the day and the same night is the dreaded Roundtable.
While the gruelling challenges serve as light entertainment to break up the tension, and of course give players the chance to earn money for their prize pot, Rayan deems them necessary - despite him almost fainting in one. He was placed into a barrel, went upside down in a funfair wheel and was buried alive by Claudia Winkleman for 45 minutes - with scenes sometimes worthy of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
"The challenges are such an important part of the game when you're in there," he explained. "It is quite a draining adventure, you spend a lot of time overthinking about the Traitors and the game and the next Round Table; and during these challenges, you sort of forget all of that - you can work together as a team and have a bit of fun in the process".
What about breaks away from the cameras? Rayan says the days are 'jam-packed' with the only downtime mooching around the castle in between the challenge and Roundtable. And of course the glass of wine allowance at the end of the day. "You're just chilling around the castle and you quickly forget you're being filmed," he added.
Rayan crumbled at the Roundtable and was eventually banished after the Faithfuls turned on him (BBC)The cast aren't filmed away from the castle when they head to their top-secret sleeping quarters, and the game isn't discussed then. "We'd often just have casual chats or play some games around the castle after breakfast or before the Roundtable.
"Things we did included playing boule or croquet and other lawn games. At one point, Wilf taught us a little dance routine in the breakfast room; or Theo taught us a cheerleading move and we threw Alex up in the air. It was all quite wholesome but it was never too long before we got back to the conniving and paranoia".
While the game is high-intensity both physically and mentally, he said you don't feel tired as you're pumped on adrenaline, "constantly switched on". And once he was home alone for the first time after filming, he crashed and slept for 14 hours.
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Doing menial tasks such as going to the supermarket again after being cared for felt like a novelty. Rayan says they were 'well-fed' throughout the process, and all meals were cooked and delivered to them in the dining room, with a 'few good dishes', including pasta and fried chicken.
As a good cook, he almost wished he had the chance to show off his culinary skills in order to gain a few more alliances. But the most important meal of the day literally left a sour taste in his mouth.
"I said this on day one and I stand by this - breakfast may have been the most trying thing about this show," Rayan joked. "I'm French so obviously I love a coffee and croissant in the morning and I was pleased when I saw croissants the first time I walked into the breakfast room but they were not what I am used to. I considered calling the French embassy to complain there and then - it was an affront to croissants".
He couldn't stomach it, and instead settled on a cup of coffee and toast. He added: "I love the producers and they took great care of us but I was not a fan of the breakfast."
It was hard to keep track of time during the game, especially the dreaded Roundtable. Like other players who have spoken out since leaving the show, Rayan agrees that the intense environment sees people naturally crack under pressure, which could explain this season's meltdown from Brian.
Rayan believes Harry's bravado will soon come crashing down (BBC/Studio Lambert/Mark Mainz)Some discussions don't make the edit, Rayan says, as it can go on for too long as accusations are thrown about. There was one pivotal moment in his series, however, that never made the cut despite being crucial to the team's decision to banish Alyssa Chan.
"I like to credit myself with a big chunk of Traitor Alyssa's downfall at the Roundtable because, while we were filming the church challenge, she slipped up massively," he recalled. "We were doing Claudia impressions and when it was her turn, she went 'hello Traitors'.
"I immediately thought in my head that you would never hear Claudia say that unless you were a Traitor and so she must have been a Traitor. And in case I had any doubt, Alyssa got really awkward immediately after she said this and tried to fill the silence.
"At that point, I just knew it was her - I told a few people in the car back and then I told everyone at the Round Table but viewers never got to see it."
Once filming wrapped up and the show was completed for season one, those who had made it to the final - Aaron, Hannah and Meryl - kept it a secret. On how it might end for season two, Rayan, who is still good friends with player Maddy, believes he has a clear theory as to how it will unravel.
"Harry will go soon: power corrupts and just like power corrupted Paul, I think it's getting to Harry's head," he began. "I think this will be his downfall: he's made a few mistakes, he has a faithful or two against him, and he might survive episode 10 but eventually, someone is going to start asking why he keeps escaping murder even though he is such a good Traitor hunter.
"Jaz is also putting pressure on him; Ross wants revenge; and I think Andrew knows he cannot trust Harry, so I think this will eventually lead to his banishment. This will leave Andrew and Ross as traitors. I cannot see Ross faring very well - I think he will be accused eventually and he will crumble really fast at the Roundtable, so he will be banished.
"At that point, I think Andrew has a clear path to victory: the Faithfuls won't think there is another traitor in the game and they'd be forgiven for thinking so. The game has really been stacked for the Traitors this time around: there have been 6 Traitors overall. I can imagine the Faithfuls thinking 'oh we've just banished 5 Traitors, surely there cannot be another one.' And that will be their mistake.
"This leads to an Andrew win by default, in my opinion. So I am picturing a final with Andrew and some of the other Faithfuls - it's hard to guess who will be murdered in between then but, based on how threatening they are, I would think Jaz and Jasmine might not make it to the final."
The Traitors continues tonight on BBC One at 9pm.
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