Traitors fans rage as the third episode ends with a huge cliffhanger over the exiled contestant and groan about the agonizing wait until NEXT WEDNESDAY to find out what happens after Paul and Harry betray Ash during a tense roundtable

Traitors fans were left furious on Friday night when the third episode ended on a huge cliffhanger.

Viewers sat on the edge of their seats during a round table of drama as participants voted on who they wanted banished from the Scottish castle.

However, a second vote had to be held as Diane, Ash and Brian all received the same number of votes as they were equally suspected of being traitors.

In the second round, Brian and Ash both received six votes, but the episode was left on a huge cliffhanger as Anthony's deciding vote was not revealed.

Ash could be the first traitor to be sent home, as she faces Faithful Brian in the roundtable vote after being betrayed by her fellow traitors Paul and Harry.

Viewers took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to discuss the cliffhanger, as they will have to wait until Wednesday's episode to find out who will be banned.

One posted: 'THAT'S THE MOST BRUTAL CLIFFHANGER of all time', while another moaned: 'Gosh! Not the cliffhanger! The Traitors are turning on each other faster than I expected!'

“So you're telling me I have to wait until NEXT WEDNESDAY to find out what happens after that cliffhanger,” a third added.

One fan fumed: 'My kids can't seem to handle a 90s style cliffhanger where you have to wait for an answer. How many days until the next episode!?'

Another said: 'Stunning cliffhanger. No notes.”

The participants became emotional and tensions rose as Faithfuls were wrongly accused of being traitors and Ash came under fire during the final roundtable before being betrayed by her fellow traitors.

Ash was seemingly at risk of being discovered as the first traitor when she came under fire from psychic Tracey and Diane, before other people's suspicions about her grew.

Her fellow traitors Harry, Paul and Miles flew under the radar as no one suspected them, with Paul receiving one vote from Brian for saying he didn't know who to vote for while insisting he still considered him a believer .

At the round table, the participants confronted people they believed were the traitors, who betrayed the other participants and 'killed' them in an attempt to win the prize money for themselves.

Tracey added Ash's name to the mix when she became the first traitor to defend herself, but failed to convince the others when more Faithfuls began to suspect her.

Tracey said: 'Just to throw another name into the mix, that's you Ash. I know you're chatting with everyone, I know you've asked a lot of people 'who do you think is a traitor?'

But Ash intervened and laughed as she said, “Well, that's what we're here for!”

Tracey continued, “I also think you threw names in there too, which makes me quite suspicious.”

Defensively, Ash said, “Of course I talk to everyone, that's who I am!” Then I can think about what I think of everyone.'

Evie then asked her who she suspected was a traitor since she had spoken to everyone, causing Ash to backtrack on her comments.

She said, “I haven't spoken to anyone much at all,” just as she said she hasn't spoken to Diane – who also quietly suspected her of being a traitor.

Tracey then pushed her on the contradiction, to which Ash clarified: “Okay, I'm sorry, I like to try to reach out to everyone,” while her fellow traitor Paul frowned concerned at her defense.

In the first vote, Ash received four votes along with Diane and Brian, but none of her fellow traitors voted for her because they tried to keep her suspicious.

However, when it came to a draw and the contestants had to vote again, Harry and Paul changed their tune after Ash's final plea for her innocence.

Ash said: 'This actually feels weird, I didn't expect to be in this position. To you it seems like I say different things to people.

'For me, what I do is really going around, I want to get to know people and their opinions. I don't think that makes me a traitor, I think that makes me a believer.'

Brian and Diane both also defended themselves, with the contestants also appearing unconvinced by Brian after his dramatic outburst asking who suspected him so he could vote for them.

During the vote, we saw both Paul and Harry looking concerned as they shared a look as they tried to protect their own positions as traitors.

Harry said to the camera: 'Paul and I attracted attention and raised eyebrows slightly, but made sure no one else could see, but he knew exactly what had to be done to protect the Traitors.'

After Paul and Harry's votes were announced, Ash looked completely dejected by the betrayal and spoke to the camera through tears.

She said emotionally about their decision, “What the hell are you doing?! I'm actually very surprised.'

Paul said of his shocking decision: “She's a really bad performer as a traitor, and when you perform poorly, there are consequences.”

Ash added, “It's only day two of the roundtable and it's already so hard, you know?”

Miles was the only traitor not to vote for Ash when he wrote down Brian's name in an attempt to deflect suspicion from his fellow ally.

However, viewers will have to wait until Wednesday's episode to find out who was sent home, as the deciding vote between Brian and Ash was not revealed in the cliffhanger ending.