Television

“The nation weeps”: The internet reacts to The Traitors elimination

By Alice Morey

18th January 2024

The recent elimination on The Traitors has sent fans reeling and prompted a surge of grief and online commentary by heartbroken viewers.

Spoilers ahead.

The seventh episode was staged to be a critical one, as the nation and particularly the LGBTQIA+ viewers waited with baited breath to finally discover whether retired teached Diane was eliminated or not.

“4 MILLION people tuned in to the state funeral of ar Diane – sorry, I mean – a new record high of 4 million tuned into episode 7 of #he Traitors on BBC One last night,” SUPER TV commented.

The previous episode saw the traitors (Miles Asteri, a 36-year-old veterinary nurse from Worcestershire, Harry Clark, a 22-year-old army engineer from Slough, and Paul Gorton, a 36-year-old business manager from Manchester) bestowed with the task of eliminating a player via ‘poisoned’ chalice.

In last night’s episode, it was revealed that it was in fact Diane who took a sip, however unlike last season the player would remain in the game for another day.

Claudia Winkleman, host, explained to the contestants that the challenge of the day would be to get into Miss Marple mode and figure out who had been targeted by the traitors.

In a camp flourished funeral procession, the group were led to an area to answer questions that gave them clues to the identity of the victim.

To the fortune of the group they correctly identified Diane as the poisoned participant and she was locked in a coffin, ending her time on The Traitors.

An additional £7,000 was added to the prize fund, which currently stands at £56,550.

Diane had been a fan favourite right from the start for immediately “sussing out” the Traitors’ identities. Rylan Clark joined in on the hype: “Never been more afraid of being found out by her and I’m not even a traitor on the show.”

In a delight for viewers, Diane posted a video on Instagram captioned: “The price to pay for being a summer lovin’ fun hun” alongside a video of the reality star dancing with a bottle of pink fizz in front of a picture of The Traitor’s castle. The clip has already been carefully crafted into many an internet meme.

Upon Diane’s departure an outpouring of comments were made one said: “Such a fitting exit for the queen of the UK.”

Another added: “Diane getting killed off with pink rosé is camp and iconic #thetraitors.”

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the BBC One series follows 22 strangers as they arrive at a castle in the Scottish Highlands to play “the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust” in the hope of winning up to £120,000.

Scroll for more fan reactions.