The Traitors sparks nationwide backlash as BBC pulls ‘evil’ cliffhanger in semi-final showdown

With six contestants remaining, the initial vote ended in a deadlock, as James and Rachel each received three votes for banishment.

Rachel, Jade and Stephen voted against James, while Faraaz, James himself and Jack directed their ballots towards Rachel.

Both players were then given the chance to make final pleas to their fellow contestants before a second vote was held.

Despite a tense rethink around the table, the revote also failed to produce a clear outcome.

Jade switched her vote away from James and instead targeted Rachel, while Jack moved in the opposite direction and changed his vote to James, leaving the result tied once again.

With neither side able to secure a majority, host Claudia Winkleman was forced to intervene, introducing the Chest of Chance to determine who would be banished.

She explained each contestant would choose a wooden chest, with the one containing a shield guaranteeing a place in the final.

However, viewers were denied the dramatic reveal, as the episode cut to credits before either James or Rachel could open their chest, meaning the outcome will not be known until Friday night’s final.

The explosive roundtable followed a fraught mission earlier in the episode, during which James came under fire after mixing up bags of gold, despite making repeated uphill runs in an effort to help the group avoid a murder at the castle.

During the vote, Faraaz led the charge against Rachel, accusing her of orchestrating a plan to hand James the dagger to eliminate Matthew.

Jack and Jade backed his suspicions, while Stephen, Rachel’s fellow Traitor, attempted to redirect attention onto James.

Rachel fiercely defended herself, particularly over her earlier role in Fiona’s banishment.

“I caught her in that lie,” she shouted. “Do not take away from me that I caught one — that’s one of my proudest achievements since I got in here.”

She added: “Don’t dilute that by saying it was traitor on traitor. I still got one.”

The cliffhanger ending sparked immediate backlash online.

One furious viewer fumed: “That Traitors ending tonight was absolutely evil!”

Another branded it a “massive cliffhanger." A third simply called it “an absolute p***take”.

A fourth viewer described the episode as the “biggest EVER #Traitors let-down”.

"BBC have done us dirty....that #Traitors cliffhanger wasn't what I wanted. The only round table that actually mattered," penned another fan of the show.

Others voiced concern for Rachel’s fate, with one fan writing: “How could they leave it like that? Praying Rachel doesn’t go, she deserves to make the final.”

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