The BBC’s reality TV show The Traitors is returning for a second series on Wednesday January 3, with 22 contestants competing for the cash prize.

Season one came to a nail-biting end in December 2022 with Faithfuls Hannah Byczkowski, Aaron Evans and Meryl Williams emerging victorious after exposing Wilf as a Traitor at the very last moment.

The 22 strangers had to live together in a posh mansion, with three of them secretly being The Traitors. 

Proving it was popular amongst fans, the series closed on a high of 3.2million viewers during its tense finale.

As fans gear up for the second season of The Traitors, MailOnline take a look at where the original contestants are now.

Season one of The Traitors came to a nail-biting end in December 2022 with Faithfuls Hannah Byczkowski, Aaron Evans and Meryl Williams emerging victorious after exposing Wilf as a Traitor at the very last moment

Meryl Williams

Merlyn was one of the stars of The Traitors and also one of the three winners in the first season, taking home £33k.

Following her win, Meryl revealed that she wants to follow in host Claudia Winkleman’s footsteps and become a presenter.

Speaking after her win, Meryl explained: ‘I work at a call centre as a customer service agent and I really want to break into the television and journalism industry in presenting.’

‘I’m going to use this time and money to get into that’, she added in a chat shared by The Sun. 

Meryl has remained in the public eye, appearing on the Christmas special of The Weakest Link on BBC and creating a TikTok account. 

She was also nominated for the Scottish BAFTA Audience Award in 2023, but Lauren Lyle took the award.

In her post reflecting on the year after she won the reality show, Meryl said: ‘2023 – One of the best years of my life…

‘I now work in an industry I never thought I could ever work in & be able to make living from it!’

Discussing the targeting she had received following her TV appearances , she also opened up about having forehead reduction surgery – as this had always been a ‘big insecurity’ for her. 

Merlyn was one of the stars of The Traitors and also one of the three winners in the first season, taking home £33k

Meryl feels ‘more confident than ever’ after getting forehead reduction surgery, admitting that it had always been a ‘big insecurity’ of hers

Hannah Byczkowski

Hannah walked away from her job doing care assessments ahead of the show and luckily it payed off, as she also walked away with £33k.

While she’s stepped foot into the industry, she now plans to become a full-time comedian.

Hannah has been busy with her successful podcast Ghost Huns, which she co-hosts with Suzie Preece. 

The pair have announced they’ll be touring across the UK in 2024 on the back of their audio series climbing up the podcast charts and cultivating a loyal fanbase. 

Hannah walked away from her job doing care assessments ahead of the show and luckily it payed off, as she also walked away with £33k

Aaron Evans

Winner Aaron quit his job as a property agent to appear on the BBC show.

And despite earning a whopping £33k from his share of the money, Aaron stuck to his promise to give the cash to his mother for a deposit on a house.

Revealing her reaction, he explained: ‘She was crying when I came back from the show and then once I told her, she started crying even more. It was really emotional.’

Since The Traitors aired, Aaron has been travelling the world and has kept his 60k Instagram followers up-to-date.

Despite earning a whopping £33k from his share of the money, Aaron stuck to his promise to give the cash to his mother for a deposit on a house

Madelyn Smedley

Madelyn rose to fame on smash hit reality TV show The Traitors before nabbing the guest role of talent agent Faye Fuller on the Channel 4 soap opera.

She infamously tried to conceal her acting career on The Traitors, but eventually confessed to her roles in EastEnders and Casualty before being voted off the reality show.

In other exciting news, Madelyn confirmed in September that she had welcomed her first child with her partner Tom Greenwood.

The star took to Instagram to confirm that she had welcomed a daughter on Saturday and shared her little one’s sweet name – Shelby Rae.

Alongside a video of herself cuddling her newborn, she wrote: ‘Shelby Rae our little girl – feel so lucky – 23.09.23 – 6lb 3.’

Madelyn confirmed that she and her care home receptionist partner Tom, 30, were expecting their first child together back in May.

On Maddy’s season of The Traitors she came under suspicion when she confessed that she was an actress who had appeared in one episode of EastEnders – where she played a homeless woman named Rita – and in one episode of Casualty where she played a woman without a womb.

Maddy was a ‘Faithful’ in the show and initially hid her acting career from the other contestants, only disclosing her second job of working in a care home.

Almost making it to the final she was voted out of the game in the 11th episode. 

Rise to fame: Madelyn infamously tried to conceal her acting career on The Traitors, but eventually confessed to her roles in EastEnders and Casualty before being voted off the show

Congratulations! In other exciting news, Madelyn confirmed earlier this week that she had welcomed her first child with her partner Tom Greenwood – a daughter called Shelby Rae

Wilfred ‘Wilf’ Webster

Wilfred was the only traitor who made it to the final without being detected, but was caught out in the final minutes by Aaron, Hannah and Meryl.

He has remained in the public eye and has gained a large TikTok following since his appearance. 

He also co-hosts the It’s Just a Game Podcast with fellow Traitors stars Rayan Rachedi and Ivan Brett.

Wilfred was the only traitor who made it to the final without being detected, but was caught out in the final minutes by Aaron, Hannah and Meryl

Andrea Addison

Andrea was the shows oldest contestant at 72 and despite being a fan favourite, she was eliminated towards the end of the series.

She has since returned to Belgium, but returned to London to see her co-stars at The Traitors reunion party.