The Traitors: What happened to the winners and losers of the BBC show including soap debuts, podcasts and BAFTA nominations
BBC reality TV show The Traitors returns for a second series on Wednesday, January 3, with 22 contestants competing for the cash prize.
Season one came to a nail-biting end in December 2022 when Faithful's Hannah Byczkowski, Aaron Evans and Meryl Williams emerged victorious after exposing Wilf as a traitor at the last minute.
The 22 strangers had to live together in a fancy mansion, three of whom were secretly The Traitors.
The series proved its popularity among fans, closing at a high of 3.2 million viewers during the thrilling finale.
As fans prepare for the second season of The Traitors, MailOnline takes a look at where the original contestants are now.
Season one of The Traitors came to a nail-biting end in December 2022 when Faithful's Hannah Byczkowski, Aaron Evans and Meryl Williams emerged victorious after exposing Wilf as a traitor at the last minute.
Meryl Williams
Merlyn was one of the stars of The Traitors and also one of three winners in the first season, taking home £33,000.
Following her win, Meryl revealed she wants to follow in host Claudia Winkleman's footsteps and become a presenter.
After her win, Meryl explained: 'I work at a call center as a customer service representative and I really want to break into the television and journalism industry by presenting.'
“I'm going to use this time and money to get started on that,” she added in a chat shared by The Sun.
Meryl has remained in the public eye, appearing in the BBC's The Weakest Link Christmas special and creating a TikTok account.
She was also nominated for Scotland's BAFTA Audience Award in 2023, but Lauren Lyle took home the award.
In her post looking back on the year after winning the reality show, Meryl said: '2023 – One of the best years of my life…
'I now work in an industry that I never thought I would ever be able to work in and make a living from!'
Discussing the targets she's received following her TV appearances, she also opened up about having forehead reduction surgery – as this had always been a 'big insecurity' for her.
Merlyn was one of the stars of The Traitors and also one of three winners in the first season, taking home £33,000
Meryl feels 'more confident than ever' after forehead reduction surgery, admitting it was always a 'big insecurity' of hers
Hannah Byczkowski
Hannah left her job to do care assessments ahead of the show and luckily it paid off as she also walked away with £33,000.
While she has set foot in the industry, she now plans to become a full-time comedian.
Hannah has been busy with her successful podcast Ghost Huns, which she co-hosts with Suzie Preece.
The pair have announced they will tour Britain in 2024 thanks to their audio series, which is climbing the podcast charts and building a loyal fan base.
Hannah left her job to do care assessments ahead of the show and luckily it paid off as she also walked away with £33,000
Aaron Evans
Winner Aaron has quit his job as a property agent to appear on the BBC show.
And despite making a whopping £33,000 from his share of the money, Aaron kept his promise to give the money to his mother as a deposit for a house.
Revealing her reaction, he explained: 'She cried when I got back from the show and once I told her she started crying even more. It was really emotional.'
Since The Traitors aired, Aaron has been traveling the world and keeping his 60,000 Instagram followers up to date.
Despite earning a whopping £33,000 from his share of the money, Aaron kept his promise to give the money to his mother as a deposit on a house.
Madelyn Smedley
Madelyn rose to fame on the hit reality TV show The Traitors before taking on the guest role of talent agent Faye Fuller in the Channel 4 soap opera.
She infamously tried to hide her acting career in The Traitors, but eventually confessed to her roles in EastEnders and Casualty before being voted out of the reality show.
In other exciting news, Madelyn confirmed in September that she had welcomed her first child with her partner Tom Greenwood.
The star confirmed on Instagram that she welcomed a daughter on Saturday and shared her little one's sweet name: Shelby Rae.
Alongside a video of her cuddling her newborn, she wrote: “Shelby Rae, our little girl, feeling so happy – September 23, 2023 – 5 lbs.”
Madelyn confirmed that she and her receptionist partner Tom, 30, were expecting their first child together in May.
In Maddy's season of The Traitors, she came under suspicion when she confessed to being an actress who had appeared in an episode of EastEnders – in which she played a homeless woman called Rita – and in an episode of Casualty in which she played a woman without a uterus. .
Maddy was a 'Faithful' on the show and initially hid her acting career from the other contestants, only revealing her second job: working in a care home.
She almost reached the finals and was voted out of the competition in the 11th episode.
Rise to fame: Madelyn infamously tried to hide her acting career in The Traitors, but eventually confessed to her roles in EastEnders and Casualty before being voted off the show
Congratulations! In other exciting news, Madelyn confirmed earlier this week that she had welcomed her first child with her partner Tom Greenwood – a daughter named Shelby Rae.
Wilfred 'Wilf' Webster
Wilfred was the only traitor who made it to the final unnoticed, but was caught in the final minutes by Aaron, Hannah and Meryl.
He has remained in the public eye and has gained a large TikTok following since his appearance.
He also co-hosts the It's Just a Game Podcast with fellow Traitors stars Rayan Rachedi and Ivan Brett.
Wilfred was the only traitor to reach the final unnoticed, but was caught in the final minutes by Aaron, Hannah and Meryl
Andrea Addison
Andrea was the show's oldest contestant at the age of 72 and despite being a fan favorite, she was eliminated towards the end of the series.
She has since returned to Belgium, but returned to London to see her co-stars at The Traitors reunion party.