The Traitors’ Andrea heralded a ‘LGBTQ+ queen’ after emotional speech about her late partner
Andrea. (BBC/Studio Lambert Associates/Mark Mainz)
The Traitors contestant Andrea has been dubbed a “gay icon” after opening up about her late partner.
The retired 72-year-old, who is a Faithful in BBC One’s murder mystery game show, has not shared much about her personal life so far, but all that changed in last night’s (13 December) episode.
In every episode, contestants are sent on a mission to collect money for the final prize fund. Along the way, they must determine who is a Traitor and eliminate them from the competition before they get a chance to steal the whole sum of money in the final.
During the most recent challenge, the group were tasked with the painstaking work of rolling barrels over a steep hill. Afterwards, Andrea movingly explained how much she had enjoyed the teamwork, especially given the loss of her partner.
“We are actually a great team and it’s lovely to do teamwork,” she reflected. “Particularly for me, I mean, I live alone. And coming back is like being at school and being with friends.
“My partner died. We spent 26 years together. She was a wonderful woman. I came out of that saying, ‘I’m a fighter.'”
Of course, this heartfelt admission touched viewers, with one person writing: “Learning she was married to a woman and hearing her talk about losing her has made me love her even more, if that’s possible.
“Also, can we talk about how IMPORTANT it is to have ELDERLY queer people on our tellies?? Yeah, you CAN have a long life, kids.”
Another added: “It’s simultaneously heartbreaking and liberating to see LGBTQ+ people over the age of 70, especially those who have lost their partners.”
Given how achingly rare it is to see elderly queer representation on TV, particularly of women, many fans took a moment to praise Andrea’s strength.
“Andrea is a queer woman?” another viewer wrote, “It makes so much sense that she’s still such a powerhouse at her age.”
Having already established herself as a fan favourite, it seems this new information has only increased everyone’s love for Andrea.
Despite being a favourite among viewers and contestants, it didn’t prevent the tides from turning on her during the evening’s roundtable, where contestants vote for who they think are the ‘Traitors’ among them.
During the episode, Andrea grew tearful as fellow contestant Amos asked her to defend herself, explaining that she had “tried her best”.
One viewer, noticing the recent trend to cancel LGBTQ+ TV shows, joked: “If I know anything about terrible TV tropes, then Andrea coming out as a gay icon means she’s probably a goner.”
But most people leapt to Andrea’s defence.
“Protect Andrea at all costs, our LGBTQ+ queen,” one viewer declared.
Here’s hoping Andrea gets all the happiness she deserves and more.
The Traitors returns to BBC One on Thursday at 9pm.
