How Nick Mohammed became the ultimate Traitor

A month ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me Alan Carr would be the winner of The Celebrity Traitors. The same Alan Carr who was a sweaty nervous wreck the moment Claudia tapped him on the shoulder? The same Alan Carr who couldn’t get through the sentence “I am a Faithful” without bursting into laughter? And yet there he stood, at the end of last night’s final, with £87,500 on its way to Neuroblastoma UK in his name. I couldn’t help but cry along with him.

But it wasn’t Alan’s scheming or lying that sealed his win. It was lovely Nick Mohammed’s betrayal of his best mate Joe Marler that paved the way for the last Traitor to steal the cash. By unknowingly siding with a Traitor, he joined Alan and fellow Faithful David Olusoga in voting out Joe, mistaking him for the wolf among the flock. In the end, Nick – not Alan – proved himself the ultimate Traitor.

Nick and Joe’s bromance has been one of the highlights of The Celebrity Traitors. It began when Joe’s first best mate, comedian Joe Wilkinson, was murdered by the Traitors and the rugby player needed someone else to put his trust in. Who better than the outrageously smart and adorable Nick?

We first saw their solidarity in the chess challenge, when the pair deliberately sabotaged the task in an effort to sniff out the Traitors. “I’ll let you win,” Nick whispered to Joe, thinking there were more Traitors in his own team. It was a smart move – cementing both Nick’s status as a trustworthy Faithful and protecting Joe from murder that evening.

Their alliance was only strengthened when Marler’s now famous “Big Dog Theory” was proven true following the banishments of Faithful Stephen Fry and Traitor Jonathan Ross. Soon they were each other’s “hundy Ps” (hundred per cents), promising one another that they would stick together, get rid of Traitors Alan and Cat, and split the money.

But when it came to crunch time, Nick committed the ultimate betrayal.

In his defence, I can understand why. Joe had drawn attention to himself over the last few Round Tables simply by being so forceful in his Traitor accusations. But it was his parting words after voting for Cat that really made Nick suspicious: “I’m sorry, Cat.” Unbeknownst to Nick, Joe had made a secret pact with Alan and Cat to vote off David – and that apology was for swapping his vote at the last minute. But to a Faithful, it sounded an awful lot like a Traitor throwing another under the bus. And so, Alan’s victory was sealed. 

Nick Mohammed was one of the most likeable, sweetest players in the game. He was never nasty, never too forceful with his accusations and always apologetic in his voting. Nick’s real strength was in his ability to be a team player under any and all circumstances and was particularly brilliant in the challenges, methodically figuring out puzzles to bank as much cash for the prize pot as possible. I was dazzled by his ability to solve that moving block puzzle at the speed of light in that very first episode. 

But when it came to the Round Tables, he was less systematic. While he did gun for Cat early on in the game, he was soon persuaded to vote elsewhere and rarely were his instincts right. He never even suspected Alan was a Traitor, never mind voted for him. Completely by accident, Nick was the perfect Traitor.  

It made for fantastic television. The gobsmacked look on Joe’s face as he watched his best friend and ally turn on him in the crucial crescendo will go down in Traitors history. No one was more shocked by this turn of events than the man who thought he had tied up the final in a neat bow. But the tables soon turned on Nick when he learned that Alan was a Traitor – his knees buckled, his eyes widening as much as his open mouth. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him swear (and definitely not with as much force) before that moment.

On the companion series Uncloaked, Nick and Joe assured us that their brotherhood has survived (even if Joe does call Nick “Judas” when they text). I’m relieved to hear it. The wonderful thing about the celebrity version of The Traitors is that – with the money going to charity rather than the players’ pockets – any grudges and deceptions are quickly put aside, and all that is left are close bonded friendships and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I think I might be tearing up again.