Loyalists say 'iconic' exit speech not planned

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Traitors.”

An evicted Renegade contestant whose parting words have been branded “iconic” by fans says they want to leave the show “with a smile”.

The BBC One show challenges contestants, known as “loyalists,” to identify a group of impostors in their ranks.

These traitors seek to secretly eliminate others without detection and direct suspicion elsewhere.

The latest loyalist to be evicted from the Scottish castle where the show is filmed says the traitor he had previously kicked out “screwed everything up” for him.

Dr Qasim “Kas” Ahmed told BBC Asia Network News that Armani, who exposed him as a traitor in a previous episode, defended him with the “best of intentions”.

But he believes she ultimately sealed his fate.

“After Armani left, everything seemed to fall on me and it didn’t matter what I did,” he said.

“Everyone thinks I'm a traitor.”

Kass, who has returned to A&E duty since filming the show, said being a doctor might work against him once the competition begins.

“I work in a hospital. I'm used to the chaos of things,” he said.

“I’m used to being myself in high-pressure situations because you learn how to develop yourself and how to stay calm.

“But no one else is used to dealing with it.”

Cass did agree, however, that some of the accusations made against him during the roundtable scene (where contestants had to choose who to evict) were “ridiculous.”

He said his parting ways – in which he led others to think he was about to admit he was a traitor before turning to the truth – was planned, but he did experience some last-minute tension.

“When it came down to it, I thought, 'Oh, God, I don't know if I can do this,'” he said.

Kass said his attention was focused on host Claudia Winkelmann, and when he noticed a hint of a giggle emerging from beneath her signature bangs, he found the courage to deliver his explosive final One sentence.

“I was like, 'Okay, Claudia has my back,'” he said.

“'Look straight ahead and say what you have to say'.”

Fans of the show criticized other contestants for isolating Cass from the group.

In one scene, he walks into a room for lunch and realizes all the contestants inside are talking to him.

The moment when he turned away and was forced to eat alone was described by viewers as “heartbreaking”.

Kass said Fauzia, another contestant who sacrificed herself during the elimination mission in the first episode, was an “ally” during their brief time together.

He said he had no hard feelings toward the other actors, but admitted he did feel isolated during that time.

But he hopes Fauzia's tough words about their treatment of him will appear in the remaining episodes.

“I think this will hopefully spark people to think, 'actually what we're doing here is inappropriate and shouldn't be happening at all,'” he said.

“Watching what happens over the next few episodes, I can feel a slight change in the mindset of how people respect each other.”

Listen to Ankur Desai on BBC Asia Network live Monday to Thursday 15:00-18:00 – or listen here.