Celebrity Traitors viewers have ‘secret role’ theory that could change whole game

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Celebrity Traitors

Fans of The Celebrity Traitors are convinced they've rumbled contestant Celia Imrie's secret role.

Everyone who's been tuning in for the celebrity spin-off of the hit BBC series for the past few Wednesdays and Thursdays will be more than aware that this year's crop of Faithfuls are doing an absolutely terrible job of deducing the Traitors hiding in their midst.

Like, seriously hopeless.

However, fans are convinced that Nanny McPhee star Imrie may be getting a secret helping hand from host Claudia Winkleman – and it's all to do with a series of winks.

But why are people convinced that Imrie is a secret detective, and what does any of it have to do with winking? Let's explain.

Celia Imrie's 'secret' role theories explained

Anyone who spends their spare time browsing discussions about The Celebrity Traitors online is likely to have stumbled across numerous fan theories suggesting that Imrie is playing the role of a secret detective and is getting advice from Winkelman.

The theory appears to trace back to a Reddit post, where one person shared all the evidence they've found in the episodes which support it.

"Celia is secretly a detective character," the theory begins. "When she makes a correct guess at the round table (which she's done once so far, for Cat) Claudia surreptitiously responds to her with a wink. No wink means her guess isn't a Traitor."

Interesting.

The Redditor goes on to explain that Imrie often changes her guess at roundtable discussions and is often spotted snooping around the castle looking for clues, exactly the sort of thing a detective would do.

One of the biggest pieces of supporting evidence - outside from the Cat Burns wink - came in the premiere episode of the season.

In the opening moments of episode one, Winkleman is seen hanging up a portrait for each contestant. However when she attaches Imrie's to the fall the picture winks back at her, to which Winkleman responds 'Knockout'.

The blink-and-you-miss-it moment was likely missed by most viewers, but it was certainly an unusual moment.

For anyone who missed it, the moment has since been reshared by several people online, which you can watch below:

The theory is now spreading through The Traitors fandom like wildfire as they wait for next Wednesday to come around, with viewers pointing out every time they believe Imrie has acted suspiciously.

"She keeps saying “I PROMISE you it’s not [name]," penned one viewer, while a second wondered: "And i think she is the only person to have voted for each traitor at the round table."

However not everyone is convinced, with other viewers pointing out that technically every Faithful in the game could be considered a detective.

What do you think?

Celebrity Traitors continues on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday, 29 October.