The biggest Traitors twists of all time as series 3 opens with brutal bang

This article contains spoilers for The Traitors.

The Traitors has returned for season 3 and as expected, the format of the brutal deception game has been shaken up once more - with episode one alone containing a number of twists.

Rising from 22, the new series has welcomed 25 contestants from different walks of life, all competing for a £120,000 prize. Those chosen as traitors will have to remain hidden in plain sight for the next few weeks, all while 'murdering' their fellow contestants - known as the faithful.

It's up to the faithful to work out which three contestants are behind the murders and take them down before they can get to the prize money.

This year's contestants include 70-year-old Linda, a retired opera singer, Olivia, a beautician from Horsham, and Nathan, a property consultant from London. The youngest person on this year's show is 20-year-old Freddie, aiming to follow in the footsteps of last year's winner, 23-year-old traitor, Harry Clark.

So, while we settle in each evening for the next installment of the devious competition, theories are already swirling about what the next twists could be, because let's face it - there's already been enough to keep us on the edge of our seats.

Here are some of the most shocking twists that have been served up byThe Traitors so far...

Three players get immediately axed in the first episode

BBC

Episode one of series 3 saw 25 players get onto the train to begin playing The Traitors - but only 22 made it to the castle. Their excitement on the journey was short-lived when host, Claudia Winkelman showed up.

"I hope you've all been enjoying your journey so far, because things are about to get interesting," she told contestants, who were shocked to hear her.

"As a welcome, I'm gifting you £10,000 right now to start your prize pot. But as you know in this game, everything comes at a price."

The group then had just 10 minutes to eliminate someone from each carriage of the train - with the prize money going down with each minute that passed.

Fozia, Jack and Alexander departed after three minutes, leaving £7,000 in the prize fund before the game had even begun.

Players get into character - just not their own

BBC

The Traitors is all about deception, but when they're relaxing in the castle, most players take the time to get to know each other and form genuine friendships.

However, one series 3 contestant left viewers shocked when she revealed in a confessional that she'd been lying about her accent.

Charlotte, a business director living in Hampshire, told Cardiff-based Welsh player, Elen that she was from Abergavenny, and appeared to talk in a Welsh accent.

But things took a turn when Charlotte turned to the camera and admitted: "Actually it's a bit of a spanner in the works, I'm not Welsh I'm from London, born and bred."

She claims she'd picked Welsh as it's one of the most "trustworthy" accents - but will she be able to keep it up for the entire series?

A rule-change means finalists won't find out who the traitors are

BBC

In series one and two of The Traitors, those who reached the final would pick each other apart one-by-one, as they tried to decipher who left could be a traitor, trying to steal the prize money.

Whenever a contestant was eliminated, they would have to reveal whether they are in fact a traitor or part of the faithful.

However, in series 3, things are changing, and players will rely solely on gut instincts - never getting to find out the true identity of their fellow players as they leave in silence.

It means players will have less information available to make calculated decisions on how many traitors could be left in the game. Things could get pretty tense.

Sisters go head-to-head... and one of them's a traitor

BBC

Series 3 contestants, 27-year-old Armani and 25-year-old Maia, revealed to their fellow players in episode one that they were sisters competing against each other - but what they don't know is that one of them is a secret traitor.

Armani, who works as a financial adviser, told host, Claudia Winkleman, that if she was chosen as a traitor, she wouldn't mind turning against her sister and killing her off if she needed to. Armed with a poker face of steel as she cried, pretending to fear for her sister's safety in the competition, Armani was chosen as a traitor.

Can she keep up the lie to her sister?

Paul isn't Diane's son... but Ross is

Arguably one of the most iconic moments from season two was the mid-series revelation that two of the contestants were related - but it wasn't who the other players suspected it was.

As the real mother-and-son kept their distance from each other, rumours began to swirl that retired teacher, Diane Carson, could be related to business manager, Paul Gorton, as they had been friendly with each other, and both had ginger hair.

However, it was actually another player entirely that was revealed to be the son of Diane.

In one of the biggest bombshells of the series, Diane tells the camera as she's confronted about the secret: "Paul just couldn't be my son...but Ross is."

It was later revealed that production had been referring to Ross and Diane as 'The Supremes' to keep the twist a secret.

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