With season four of The Traitors in full swing, Rachel Duffy has emerged as a major player. After receiving a tap on the shoulder from Claudia Winkleman, the mum-of-three is attempting to pull off the ultimate deception – but will The Faithfuls see through her facade? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, we're getting to know the person behind the cloak. From her family life in Northern Ireland, to her career (which might just help her win the game), here's what we know about the promising contender…
© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan CherryRachel's family life
Rachel, who has amassed an impressive 12k following on Instagram since joining The Traitors, regularly posts about her family life on the platform. Based in County Down in Northern Ireland, the 42-year-old has shared photos of her husband of 12 years, not to mention their three children.
Ahead of her stint on The Traitors, Rachel told the BBC that she and her family love to sit down for game nights. "We play games all the time," she said. "Christmas night is the ultimate family game night, and it always gets very competitive."
Clearly proud of their mum for taking part, Rachel revealed that she hosted a special screening of The Traitors for family and friends, where they learned that she had been chosen as a Traitor. Showing their support, Rachel's family members – including her siblings – donned themed T-shirts for the screening.
Rachel has also spoken about her close relationship with her mum, Anne, who has been tuning in each and every night. When she was asked what she would do with the prize money from the competition, the TV star noted that she would like to spend some of it on her mum, who has been living with Parkinson's and dementia.
"I would make memories with the most important people in my life. My mum has dementia, and she wants to go on a holiday as she used to go on holidays all the time before my dad passed," Rachel explained. "That's all she wants. I just want to create memories with her whilst I'm still lucky enough to have her, and to create memories with my kids, because they just love their nanny."
How Rachel's job might give her an edge in the competition
Rachel works in strategic communications, a job that requires her to craft effective narratives for maximum impact. With that in mind, it's highly surprising that she doesn't want The Faithfuls to recognise her incredibly helpful skillset.
© BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry"I'm going to say that I work in Marketing, which is true, but it's leaving out the fact that I do strategic communications across Northern Ireland on a daily basis," Rachel previously told the BBC. "I don't want them to know that speaking to people and getting my point across is very easy for me. I suppose the overriding game plan is to just have fun and be super fun and super positive and be lovely to be around, which is going to hopefully get me a little bit further in the game."
