Who is The Traitors series three’s LGBTQ star Leanne?

LGBTQ+ The Traitors series three contestant Leanne has spoken about her hope of winning the hit competition game series, revealing that she and her partner Sophie would use the prize money for IVF.

Warning: spoiler alert for episode one of The Traitors UK series three.

The Traitors UK returned to screens for series three last night (1 January), bringing with it new players, new twists, and an abundance of BAFTA-worthy moments of camp TV brilliance.

The first episode saw the return of turtlenecked host Claudia Winkleman, the binning off of three players before the train had even made it past Glasgow, and the birth of many a new mothers to the LGBTQ+ community (Linda and Lisa, we’d die for you).

Episode one also saw three Traitors selected, each of whom will attempt to scheme and lie their way to a place in the final, by pretending to be part of the Faithfuls. And for the first year ever, all three Traitors are women.

Sadly, veteran Leanne – who we’re dubbing Queer Soldier Barbie, thanks to her head-turning pink powersuit in episode one – isn’t one of the Traitors. That said, she is lying about her army past, and pretending to be a nail technician. Viewers are already in love with the trickery tomfoolery of it all.

Who is The Traitors star Leanne?

Hailing from Wales (unlike some of this year’s cast, ahem, Charlotte), 28-year-old Leanne spent the last 12 years being a soldier in the Army but is now a veteran. 

She’s a self-described “enthusiastic, competitive, bossy” character, who will be maintaining the lie that she works in a nail salon down the road from her house, as she wants to keep her soldier past a secret from her fellow players.

It’s not a 100 per cent lie, though: the salon does exist, and it’s owned by her partner’s sister, with Leanne feeling “like part of the team” too.

There’s a number of reasons behind Leanne’s decision to sign up for The Traitors. Firstly, she and her partner Sophie watched series one while pregnant, and both thought it “looked like so much fun”.

Sophie told Leanne that she’d be the perfect contestant, because she “tends to get away with a lot”.

“I tend to tell a few white lies to my boss for a couple of days off work, and I somehow always seem to get away with it. And she said you’d be so good at getting people wrapped around your finger. Sounds awful, doesn’t it,” she explained.

Leanne went on to say that she ended up having to watch episodes of series one twice, as Sophie fell asleep on the sofa with their twin boys, and she and her partner “can’t watch anything without each other”.

Leanne would use the prize money for IVF

The Traitors contestants are fighting for a prize fund of £120,000 (well, £117,000 after that train twist), and Leanne has confirmed that she and her partner Sophie would use the money for further IVF treatment.

“I went through IVF with my boys, and I was very poorly throughout my pregnancy, and then I went into early labour at six months. The boys were only 26 weeks when they were born. Because I was so poorly at the time I feel I missed out on enjoying that newborn stage,” she shared.

“I’m so so grateful to have them, and I’m so lucky that they’re alive. When they did come home from hospital after three months, they come home on oxygen, and it was a struggle to take them out.

“I would love the opportunity to have another baby, hopefully have a bit of a better experience. And to make our family a bit bigger.”

The first two episodes of The Traitors series three are streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

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