The Traitors’ Harriet reveals truth behind ‘awful’ breakfast meltdown

The Traitors star Harriet Tyce has opened up about her ‘awful’ breakfast meltdown – while issuing an apology to a fellow contestant.

Former barrister turned crime writer Harriet, 53, bowed out from the BBC show on Wednesday night.

She went up against Traitor Rachel Duffy hoping to expose her treacherous secret to the group, only for Harriet to be banished herself.

Harriet has now addressed losing her temper earlier in the episode, including shouting at fellow Faithful Roxy.

Admitting she felt ‘awful’ watching it back, Harriet told Metro: ‘Unfortunately, and I’m not proud of it at all, I did lose my temper and I really wish I hadn’t. 

‘I wish that it had gone a different way.’

Continuing, Harriet addressed whether she and Roxy had spoken or made amends since their time in the castle.

She revealed: ‘We’ve met up, we’ve spoken to each other. 

‘I messaged her again watching it last night saying, “God, this is awful. I’m so sorry… that I shouted. I really wish that I hadn’t”. I was so deep in the game though.

‘She said she was deep in the game, too, and it was a hard watch for her… I was definitely worse, don’t get me wrong, but there was a lot of emotion going on there and you don’t really want to show that level of raw emotion on television to the nation.

‘But I think what it demonstrates is the power of the game, and why The Traitors is such an incredible programme for viewers… some people handle stress better than others.’

Her banishment followed this explosive breakfast shutdown where she was branded ‘rude and erratic’ by her fellow contestants.

Harriet confidently walked in and called Rachel a Traitor in front of the full group, similar to what Fiona did.

The night prior she had the opportunity to ask the Traitors questions at Ardross Church, and was convinced it was Rachel hidden in the confession box answering her.

‘I was not going to allow another day of web weaving around me because I’ve had enough. I’m on to you. You should have killed me when you had the chance,’ she quipped.

Attempting to give more context on the situation, Rachel said: ‘We were trying to come up with what angle do we approach this because there has to be a way it can benefit the Faithful.’

But things got explosive when Harriet started to interrupt her, with Roxy stepping in to try and defuse the situation, which only riled her up more. 

‘Rachel was speaking,’ Roxy said, with Harriet screaming back at her: ‘The benefit is to set the cat amongst the pigeon, Roxy! That is all I have to say.’

Defending herself, Roxy added: ‘Listen, don’t speak to me like that. You’ve said a lot and Rachel is speaking so give her a moment please.’

Away from the BBC reality show, Harriet has a life of twists and turns of her own.

Educated at Oxford University and the daughter of a Lord and renowned judge, Harriet followed in her father’s footsteps and became a barrister.

But after ten years in the profession she left the legal sector, claiming to be a ‘terrible barrister’ due to her battle with alcohol abuse and wanting to focus on raising her children.

In 2021 the star also lost her best friend and journalist Sarah Hughes to breast cancer. The tragedy gave Harriet the motivation she needed to go sober and continue pursuing her dream career as an author.

While other contestants are often hoping to win the life changing amount of cash, Harriet had no need for the money.

The former criminal barrister and her husband are estimated to have a fortune of £15million, with the latter earning around £3.5million a year as a City trader.

The couple live in a large townhouse on a beautiful tree–lined street in the north London enclave of Highbury, known for its high concentration of so–called ‘champagne socialists’.

Nathaniel Tyce is said to earn around £3.5million a year at Japanese bank Nomura, where he is head of global markets for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Married to Harriet for 25 years, Nathaniel worked for Barclays for decades before making the switch, and friends told The Mail On Sunday that she and her husband are ‘absolutely minted’.

In fact, the pair could almost afford to buy Ardross Castle, where the BBC show is filmed, and Harriet always planned to donate the prize money to Breast Cancer Research Foundation, following Sarah’s death in 2021.

The Traitors continues tonight at 8pm on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.