Professor Hannah Fry has a problem in the castle. Its well known and clear to both players and viewers of series 2 of Celebrity Traitors she was the obvious person for Maya Jama and James Acaster to recruit as a fellow traitor. Due to her intelligence, and logical thinking style she both posed a great threat to them as a faithful, and equally would make a great traitor on paper. And while these facts have led to plenty of heat on her in the last roundtable, she is turning those exact facts into an advantage.
We all love to sit at home, judging from the comfort of our settees. Coming up with weird and wonderful tactics that we’re all certain would keep us in the game were we playing. Well, after the last episode, we think Hannah is attempting one of these very approaches. A risky tactic that we saw in realtime backfire on her predecessor traitor. But a tactic we think she is nailing.
It’s a neat double bluff. The faithfuls may be making the same mistake players often make on The Traitors: assuming the traitors are too clever to choose the obvious option. She’s so obvious, it might just work, this is why Celebrity Traitors Hannah Fry’s double bluff tactic is the perfect thing to save her from banishment.
Why Hannah Fry is playing a double bluff, and it’s working
This series has given us one of the boldest - and possibly stupidest - moves by a traitor ever. Richard E. Grant was banished at the first round table, something that had never happened to a traitor before in the UK versions of the show. This is because poor sweet Richard went for the very bold bluff of straight-up announcing that he was a traitor. He has since claimed he thought it would end differently: by being bold and obvious, he believed the faithfuls would never believe he was telling the truth. After all, what traitor would be so stupid as to draw attention to themselves like that? Well, as it turned out, Richard would. Sorry to say. But we think the idea was sound; it was the execution that got messy.
Hannah, however, seems to be attempting a similar approach in a much more sophisticated way. At the last round table, a lot of suspicion fell on her. After the shield kerfuffle with Myha’la and suggestions that she was an “obvious” choice for recruitment, it looked as though she was almost certain to be banished - until she agreed with their theory.
Once the attention turned to her, Hannah knew she had to defend herself. But instead of instinctively becoming defensive or panicking and pointing fingers to deflect suspicion - something many players fall into, and which can make them look even guiltier - she took a more considered approach. After actor Sebastian Croft brought up that the recently murdered actor Bella Ramsey had suspected Hannah, making her seem like an even more obvious choice, Hannah responded calmly. She nodded as people raised their concerns and, rather than dismissing them, explained:
‘I do think that in this game, people who are known for being smart are at risk of being murdered and of being banished simultaneously. And so I have felt really vulnerable.’
She not only acknowledged the suspicions; she explained why they made sense. While at the same time seemingly justifying that suspicious behaviour. It’s a risky move, but one that could make her seem more convincing as a faithful. Why would a traitor openly lay out all the reasons she might be suspected unless she felt confident in her innocence?
Miranda then gave Hannah the chance to deny something Myha’la had said the previous day - something that made Hannah look suspicious. But she didn’t. Even though some might see an opportunity to deny it now that Myha’la, the only witness, has been banished, Hannah seems to understand that calling it a lie could make her look guiltier. Instead, she goes along with the faithfuls’ line of thinking, suggesting she sees the situation as they do - because she is one of them.
She even says, ‘I think it’s really important that we’re all suspicious of each other.’ Hannah then brings up other reasons she might look suspicious all on her own, including the fact that she came back to breakfast with Jerry when both of them should have been targets for murder. ‘I totally understand why I’m up for suspicion’, she says, with a calm, almost sad acceptance. It’s a convincing performance of a faithful trying to make sense of the evidence with the rest of her so-called team.
The real kicker comes when comedian Joanne McNally says she would recruit Hannah in a shot. Hannah’s response? ‘Honestly, I would too’. Why would a traitor admit that? It’s almost as wild as Richard’s confession - but Hannah seems to be playing the long game, and delivering her response with real sincerity. By encouraging and complimenting the faithfuls, she aligns herself with them, even when their suspicions are aimed at her. It’s subtle, and so far, it’s worked. We think she could ride this convincing, practical, logical, act all the way to the final.