The reason why I really lost to Linda from Traitors. Why my gameplay fell apart, secrets behind the scenes, the truth about my Fozia accident, and an unexpected friend’s lie

The biggest mystery in this season’s “Traitor” series is how retired opera singer Linda Lands (whose acting skills make Widow Twanky’s panto turns look subtly subtle) is in the midst of her life until she is banished from the castle on Wednesday night. The question is how did they survive?

Her co-conspirator, level-headed call center manager Mina, 29, also grew tired of her hammy performance and joined the crowd to vote her out.

First, after host Claudia Winkleman threw a bone into the pack with a “See you later, traitor,” Linda’s ears literally stood up like an excited puppy.

The clip sparked a slew of hilarious memes on social media. Even worse were the crocodile tears, which didn’t even require a handkerchief, and the passionate protestations of friendship for the contestants they had murdered the night before.

This scene caused great joy among viewers, and the BBC celebrated it with a tongue-in-cheek West End hoarding. Everyone, including Linda, agrees that it was a bit of a miracle that she lasted this long.

When I spoke to her the morning after I saw her leave the hugely popular show, Linda, 71, had a great sense of humor and was eager to embrace her reputation as the preeminent soap opera queen.

Was she surprised she wasn’t purred sooner? ‘yes! I think we all did, to be honest. I was like a cat with nine lives,” she laughed.

Many wondered if this bumbling grandma persona was a double bluff, or if some cruel editing had been done to make it seem dimmer than it really is.

Linda, a divorced grandmother of two, says that’s not the case. “My strategy was to play the ‘old’ cards and be a little clueless, but then I realized that was me. It wasn’t edited at all. That was me! she says.

Despite her poor acting skills, Linda proved to be one of the most popular contestants on the third episode of the Ultimate Trust and Betrayal reality show, with fans lamenting her exit on social media platforms. “Not our Queen Linda!” one lamented. Others called her an “icon.”

I asked her how she felt standing in front of that huge hoarding in Leicester Square. The huge hoard awarded her a fake “Golden Mantle Award” and praised her “best performance of a lifetime.”

“Oh, it was amazing! Surreal!” she cries. “The only award I ever got in my life, and it was for bad acting!”

There’s something endearing about Linda’s resolute honesty and self-deprecating humor. It was impossible to miss Linda’s thought process as she was virtually semaphored by the audience in a ruthless psychological game where she picked up on every subtle step in facial expression, each clue given by an offhand comment or small gesture.

All the more perplexing because, as she admits, acting was part of her training as an opera singer. “Yes, I was,” she laughed. “But it didn’t seem that way, did it?” I denied that.

But, she goes on to explain, performing in opera is different from performing in front of a television camera. “Most of my acting has been on huge stages, but to be under camera surveillance you have to be more subtle, and that’s not in my vocabulary. I’ll be honest. , I just lost the plot and went along with it.”

Despite her brash nature, Linda actually has an illustrious musical pedigree. She trained at the elite Royal Academy of Music, then at the London Opera Center (closed in 1978), and performed for seven years with the English National Opera.

She then moved to Amsterdam and sang at the Dutch National Opera for 13 years, from there joining the Netherlands Radio Choir in Amsterdam, the Dutch equivalent of the BBC Singers.

She is bilingual and holds dual Dutch and British citizenship. Her 45-year-old son Paul grew up in Amsterdam and is the only child from her short-lived marriage to firefighter Paul Sr. Although the marriage only lasted 18 months, Linda and her ex remained great friends until her recent passing.

“Paul (Sr.) remarried so we could always see each other at Christmas and New Years, which was so much fun,” she says. “Our son Paul said, ‘Dad would have loved to see you on Traitors.’ Sadly, he passed away before Linda could apply for the show.

Although she never remarried, she has since had relationships with others and returned to the UK in 2020, where she now lives alone in Hertfordshire. The move was also to be closer to Paul, his wife Lauren, 43, and her two grandchildren Everly, 4. , and 6-month-old Letty.

Everly was allowed to watch Linda on television. “She said, ‘Oh, Nana, I want to be a traitor too.’ She’s like a bit of a drama queen, like a grandma. ”

Did her son Paul feel embarrassed by her ham acting? “He knows who I am. The way I look on the show isn’t that different from how I am in life. said, “Oh, Mom, why did you do that?” He thinks I’m a whiny person. He was surprised I lasted this long. ”

Some say the series’ drama is exaggerated, but Linda insists all the passion is real.

“It’s very tense and you can get invested in the game. Remember there’s pressure because you’re with them all day. No wonder people break down. Everything you do and say is scrutinized. , will be analyzed.”

When asked what the most nerve-wracking moment was, she mentioned the time she was tasked with secretly writing the names of four believers on a picture as they competed in a deathmatch, a card game in which one of them had to be eliminated.

The covert operation became “very stressful” as her pen kept running out of ink. “If someone had seen me writing my name, I would have been done,” she says.

“It was hairy because if I held the pen upright, it kept running out, so I had to stop the pen, shake it, and get it moving again.” It took years!

Wasn’t she worried that her handwriting would be seen? Fans pointed out that Fozia’s unique flamboyance of the “z” (she wrote her name on a slate during the roundtable) may have given her the guilt. Naively, Linda “didn’t even think about it.”

Daughter-in-law Lauren describes her as “a little eccentric,” but that sounds like an understatement. “That’s probably a prerequisite for being on the show,” Linda says.

While some contestants are actively scouted by researchers, Linda has been avidly watching the show since it began in 2022 and applied directly to take part. “I liked the psychological aspect.” “I can do that,” I thought. So I downloaded the form and started filling it out. ”

Most of the time, she barely completed her application, and when she realized she had to send in “a photo and a little video,” she was too lazy to do it and abandoned the application in exasperation.

But someone apparently noticed her half-filled application, and the show’s producers contacted her the next day and asked her to fill out a form. So she quickly started filming a video before going to the gym and was surprised to be selected.

She says she was probably cast because “they thought I might be a comedic role on the show.” She clearly was.

It must have been especially difficult for Linda to keep everything secret about her participation and, importantly, who would actually win. This show was actually filmed in the summer

“My son knew,” she admitted. “And my daughter-in-law, Lauren. …and my sister, Carol.” Just a roll call, I say.

“Well, they’re all people I trusted, but it was so difficult and I was worried I’d do something wrong.”

Participants met as a group for the first time on December 12th to watch the first episode of the 12-episode series together. “We had met some people before, but only inside the house. We didn’t want to go out and arouse suspicion. We had to keep up the subterfuge. But it was difficult.”

Are you good at keeping secrets? Ask. “Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve kept it a secret and only told people I trust 100 percent. But it hasn’t been easy.”

Factions form, loyalties are forged and broken within the show. I asked Linda if the contestants were forming true alliances.

That’s what she says. She formed special friendships with doctor Qasim, 33, and former British diplomat Alexander, 38. However, her “best friend” remains Lisa, 62, an Anglican priest.

“We bonded because we were similar ages,” says Linda, who has statement specs and a purple streak in her silver hair. While she prefers hoodies and leather, Lisa is more conservative in her demeanor, preferring a neat bob and sensible jeans and gilets.

“I remember seeing Lisa on the first day and thinking, ‘It’s so nice to have someone my age here. She’s fun. I liked her from the beginning. We call each other almost every day.

Lisa initially believed she was ordained, despite some early clues such as wearing a crucifix necklace and using the phrase “As God is my witness.” He kept the fact that he was a member of the group a secret from other members. Of course, Linda was spectacularly oblivious.

“I didn’t have any doubts. No! I don’t think I messed around with most of it. I was walking around in a dream half the time.”

It seems certain that she will remain lifelong friends with Lisa. Does she go to church to sing?

‘no! ‘ she says emphatically. “I love Lisa to bits, but I’m not that religious. So the fact that we’ve become great friends is actually really weird.”

Some viewers thought Linda was the show’s wimpy grandma. Some perceived her stupidity as a double bluff. Now we realize that what you see is what you get.

However, despite her unique absurdity and overacting, there is one thing that remains indisputable. I mean, Linda is a real star.

• The Traitors airs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 9pm on BBC1.