The Traitors winner Rachel Duffy reveals she has spent the past 10 years writing a book about 'murder and lies' - and spills the truth about her FBI training

If there is a single player who has defined this series of The Traitors, it is Rachel Duffy.

On Friday, the 43-year-old became the first female to win a UK series as a Traitor, sharing victory and the £95,750 prize pot with her partner in crime, Stephen Libby.

Now, following her success on the fourth series of the BBC show, Rachel has revealed to The Mail on Sunday that for the past 10 years she has been writing her first novel, and is now planning to publish it.

‘I've written a book, it’s taken 10 years to write and it's about murder and lies so it's quite appropriate. Maybe now is the time to get that published,’ she shared.

‘It's a contemporary fantasy novel for young adults all about Irish redheads in a magical forest and a bit of murder thrown in.’

Industry insiders have told the Daily Mail that likeable Rachel's income is set to rocket, as they tip the mother of three from Newry, Northern Ireland to become a millionaire – and the richest Traitor yet.

The communications director has been branded one of the show's best-ever players, hailed for her ability to gain so many friends among the Faithfuls.

And Rachel made no secret of the fact she wanted to win the show.

That aim was assisted by the four months of FBI online training she had endured, or so she told her fellow contestants in the castle.

‘I was trained by a former FBI agent so I did one of his training courses, but I did lie.

‘I had said it was a four month online course to the guys in the castle, but it was more like a one day course and an e-book, but I still did it, I was just very loose with the phrase and it did help because it gave me something in my back pocket that I could bring up,’ Rachel explained.

She added: ‘It gave everybody a giggle. I mean, like the memes online have been hilarious. But no, I'm not leaving my job to go and join the FBI anytime soon!’

One person who will be extremely proud is Rachel's beloved mother Anne who, she says, is the reason she put herself forward for The Traitors.

She revealed on last Friday's show that she entered for the sake of Anne, 70, who has dementia and was diagnosed with Parkinson's when she was in her forties. She is a huge fan of the programme and, Rachel said, had clear advice for her daughter: 'not to get caught.'

Rachel said that if she were to go all the way and win the money, she would spend it on Anne, and making memories with her. She was overcome with emotion when she learned she had won £47,875.

‘I haven't spent any of the money yet. I think I'm going to sit down with the kids, my husband and my mum and just think what could we do to have fun together,’ she said.

Giving an update on her mother Anne, Rachel added: 'It's a hard one because the show was recorded in May so at that time her condition wasn't as severe as it is now, so she's not fit to travel as much.

‘We’re trying to do something closer to home so I can't wait to just sit in front of her and say, “Mummy, what do you want to do, what can we do that you would just love?” God only knows what she's going to say, but I can't wait!’

Rachel and Stephen became the first duo of Traitors to triumph, despite Rachel being convinced Stephen would betray her to secure the entire prize pot.

She shared: ‘He wouldn't look at me, and I thought, you've done me dirty. The thoughts in my head at that moment were hold your head high. If your name is on that plate just to keep your head up and walk out. You've done yourself proud.

‘Then he turned it around and I just melted. I just thought, you little darling. It went from I'm gonna kill you, to I love you in the space of two seconds, but it was so tense.’

The pair remained loyal from the very beginning, with Stephen making a selfless decision at the final hurdle despite knowing Jack Butler would vote Rachel out. Instead, both stuck to a pact they made at the family tree not to turn on each other, and they split the money.

On her win, Rachel added: ‘It was hard fought. I didn't skip through that game at all. I worked hard and it's nice to see the hard work paying off.’

The series finale averaged 9.4m with a peak of 9.6m and an audience share of 54.9 per cent. This is the biggest overnight audience across the market since the final episode of The Celebrity Traitors in November 2025 and makes it the most watched overnight audience of the civilian version of the series ever.