The Traitors is no stranger to a family connection of sorts, as we’ve seen mother and son, boyfriend and girlfriend, and sisters playing the game in cahoots with one another.

So far in series 3, theories about possible blood ties have been flying, with viewers convinced that Lisa is Alex’s mum and that Linda and Lisa could be sisters.

Tonight, however, one scene left armchair detectives more certain than ever that Frankie, 44, is 20-year-old Freddie’s mum…

After adding £10,000 to the prize pot in another gruelling mission, host Claudia Winkleman treated both Faithfuls and Traitors to a dinner party.

But food wasn’t the only thing served at this table, as grub was accompanied by an emotional story from each player on why winning was important to them and what they would do with the cash.

‘I would like it for my boys; that’s the reason I’m here,’ Frankie began as she imagined taking home a mega sum of money.

‘Single mums can’t rely on anybody; you have to be self-sufficient, and I would like to put money towards my son going to university,’ she said with tears in her eyes.

Freddie also shared his story, which led to people putting two and two together.

‘I live at home with just me and my mum,’ he shared.

‘She’s a single parent, and she’s had so many jobs for, like, the whole of her life, so first of all, I’d pay off some of her debt, or take her on holiday, or give her something sweet.

‘And also, if I want to do law school, I’ve got to pay for it myself, so I’d put money towards that.’

Following Freddie’s comments about university and Frankie’s admission that she wants to help pay for her son’s tuition fees, viewers had a lightbulb moment where the pieces suddenly seemed to fit into place.

‘Freddie wants to pay for university, Frankie wants to pay for her kids university, Freddie’s mum is a single mum, Frankie is a single mum – are the dots connecting or are they leading us astray?’, wrote thedaryltucker on X.

‘Frankie & Freddie so blatantly talking about each other cos THEY ARE MOTHER & SON’, declared andrewmcb.

‘This dinner being the biggest clue so far that Frankie is Freddie’s mum’, echoed popgoesjoe.

While many are adamant that the two Faithfuls have been fooling us this whole time, it actually appears that theory has been officially debunked, despite what the subtle hints may suggest.

Taking matters into their own hands, determined to get to the bottom of the hypothesis once and for all, one audience member dug out the Facebook page of Freddie’s actual mother.

And no, her name isn’t Frankie or Francesca.

Posted one day ago, a status shared by a brunette woman with the name Kate Evans read: ‘My son Freddie is at university in his 3rd year of a politics degree, has had to work part-time jobs in Sainsbury’s and M&S to make ends meet, and is currently on The Traitors.’

She added: ‘I am proud as punch!!!!! He is determined to win and grab life by both hands and feet… I’m inspired by him to do more in life.’

Her post was accompanied by an article about Freddie’s casting on the show, with user SuperTV247 tweeting it to put the speculation to bed once and for all.

‘Frankie is not Freddie’s mum by the way’, they declared.

In true Traitors style, though, the rumour mill continues to spin, with plenty still expecting one almighty bombshell confession to be made ahead of next Friday’s final.

As for who will be there when we reach crunch time, well, it really is anyone’s for the taking right now.

Original Traitor Minah is currently working alongside newly recruited Charlotte—and her fake Welsh accent—having banished Linda and managed to remain largely undetected herself.

After seducing the 33-year-old business director, though, cracks are starting to show, with Charlotte willing to throw Minah under the bus if it means walking away a hell of a lot richer.

While some Faithfuls are starting to point the finger towards Minah after her series of cunning gameplay, unfortunately for them, they lost another one of their own tonight.

A dramatic roundtable showdown led to the banishment of Leon, leaving eight contestants at the castle out of the 25 who originally started the show.

The contestants were in shock to discover they had banished another Faithful, including ex-soldier Leanne, who was in tears after growing especially close to Leon.

‘When I say I love you all, I mean from past to present,’ Leon said as he geared up for his exit.

‘I’ve loved every minute of it; it’s just my time; it’s the way the cookie crumbles.’

The emotional banishment was followed by the usual meeting in the Traitors’ Tower, where Minah and Charlotte pondered over who would be their next murder victim.

Alas, we’ve been left in suspense, of course, with the outcome only revealed in five days when the show returns.