The wildly popular gameshow has torn up its genre’s rulebook to become one of the best things on television. Its secret? Letting us indulge our fantasies of treachery

In the latest episode of The Traitors UK, the final eight players gathered at a candlelit dinner party. After weeks of fraught gameplay, they shared what they would do with the prize money if they were to win. Their teary stories were emotional: donations to disability charities, IVF journeys, putting kids through university and long-overdue honeymoons. The message was clear: these are good people. But suddenly, the game recommenced and we once again wondered: are they?

“To finish that dinner and say goodnight to everyone, knowing one of them might be ‘murdered’ that night …” says Minah Shannon, one of the titular traitors who will be secretly deciding which faithfuls to kill off that night, before breaking out into laughter. “Oh my god, I’m a psychopath!” Alongside her fellow traitors, the 29-year-old call centre manager from Liverpool has betrayed and backstabbed her way through the game. But far from being considered a villain, she has become a fan favourite. This surprising turn is mostly down to the format of The Traitors. For its viewers, the show upends the usual experience of watching a reality TV show – and that’s what makes it so captivating.