GRAZIA INTERVIEW
The retired teacher sparked a thousand memes, stealing the show and our hearts, says Josh Smith
FROM THE MOMENT series two of The Traitors – the BBC reality show taking TV by storm – began, Diane Carson, a 63-year-old retired teacher from Lancashire, quickly established herself as a fan favourite. From her keep-fit lunges in her bedroom to her eagle-eyed insight into the other players, as well as her take-no-prisoners attitude (her breakfast-time quip, ‘Oh my god, we don’t all have to hug!’ was iconic), by the time she was ‘murdered’ in episode seven – sipping from a poisoned chalice of fizzy rosé, no less – she had gained legend status.
‘That was definitely my worst hangover to date and I’ve had some pretty horrendous ones,’ Diane says, reflecting on her downfall. ‘It’s always been a weak point of mine. I’m always saying to the girls, “Let’s have a nightcap,” and then they tell me off the next day. You’d think I would’ve learned my lesson before now.’
Her elimination from the show (following a super-camp ‘funeral’ complete with horse-drawn carriage and Winkleman in a black veil) spawned a million memes, with one fan quipping, ‘I did not expect to be mourning the loss of Lady Di twice in my lifetime’. Is she pleased by social media’s reaction to her? ‘I’m not actually on TikTok and Twitter, but my kids tell me stuff and they’re helping me with this Instagram account. It’s not my way of life really. I’m very flattered, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not what I do.’
What surprised her most about being on the show? ‘To find such a nice group of people. Sometimes, these reality shows have nutters to make good TV, but I don’t think that’s what makes good TV; watching humanity makes it good. And the fact we are put into these tense situations.’
Diane excelled at the round table scenes – where players can accuse one another of being traitors – but she revealed, ‘You never see me picking up my glass of water with one hand. It was shaking so much.’
