The Traitors poised to reveal who has been banished as series finale approaches

The fate of two contestants hangs in the balance as The Traitors is set to reveal its latest banishment in the series finale of the hit BBC show.

The penultimate episode left viewers on the edge of their seats, as Friday’s episode is poised to reveal which player is the next to be banished from the show – faithful James, or traitor Rachel.

Players are usually eliminated following a round of voting, but the tense episode saw the pair receive the same amount of votes after two rounds of voting.

Host Claudia Winkleman brought out the “chest of chance”, and she told James, 38, and Rachel, 42, that the player who selected the chest with a shield in it would make it to the final.

It came after a dramatic roundtable saw faithfuls Faraaz, 22, and PhD student Jade raise suspicions over Rachel, who has remained largely under the radar during her time on the show.

Rachel, from Newry, County Down, was chosen as a traitor when the new series of the show kicked off earlier this month.

A few weeks ago, Rachel, who works as a head of communications, was accused of being a traitor in front of the group by fellow traitor Fiona, who was later voted off the show after a dramatic confrontation between the pair.

She has also been accused of being a traitor by former barrister turned author Harriet, who was banished from the castle after leading the charge against her.

Meanwhile, James, from Weymouth, was voted for by Jack, a personal trainer from Essex, and traitor Stephen, who previously made a promise to his teammate Rachel to not write her name down during the roundtable discussions.

It comes after Stephen, 32, was seen stirring the pot earlier in the episode, raising suspicion for Rachel to the other players because he thought that his teammate was going to throw him under the bus.

Ahead of the roundtable, Rachel was seen during a confessional, and said: “Stephen knows he has every opportunity to throw me under the bus and sail to victory.

“I just hope I can trust him.”

The episode closed before the result of the “chest of chance” could be revealed, leaving viewers in anticipation of the final on Friday night.

If a traitor remains in the show at the end of the final episode, they will have the opportunity to steal the prize pot from the faithfuls – which currently stands at £76,750.

The series finale of The Traitors kicks off on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday at 8.30pm.