The Traitors star, 26, says cancer battle ‘knocked her confidence’

The Traitors is quickly heating up, and on top of the round table drama, viewers are also getting to know the players.

Part of the joy of the BBC series is that it brings together a group of people who are unlikely to have crossed paths in real life, and may not also be the typical reality stars. The casting team always nails the brief!

In Friday evening’s episode we got to know a little more about Olivia Deane’s background.

The 26-year beautician and model decided to open up to Armani and Leon more about her life outside of the show.

Olivia shared that she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer when she was aged 12, and now has a prosthetic eye.

‘I’ve got a prosthetic eye. My right one. So I had it removed when I was 14,’ the mum-of-one shared.

Olivia opened up about what she went through as a teenager (Picture: BBC One/ The Traitors)

Olivia told her fellow contestants that a lot of people probably don’t even notice her prosthetic eye, and Armani agreed, telling her ‘it’s the most perfect prosthetic I’ve ever seen in my life.’

While speaking in a confessional, Olivia expanded on the tough years.

‘I feel like I’ve been through a lot in life. When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with a cancer called retinoblastoma,’ she explained. Retinoblastoma is a type of eye cancer that affects the retina, which is at the back of the eye and sends signals to the brain to help you see. It mostly affects children under 3 years of age, as it is linked to a change in a gene that controls the growth of the eye. 

Olivia is a faithful (Picture: Instagram)

‘It resulted in me losing my right eye. It just knocked my confidence massively. I felt embarrassed of my prosthetic eye. 

‘I lost my hair, I was kind of wanting to turn into an adult, but adulthood was being ripped from me.’ 

Olivia says the ordeal has made her who she is, and is going to help her be a great player in the game.

‘I just know I’m a fighter’ (Picture: The Traitors)

‘I have dealt with it. Obviously I get days where I am like getting emotional about small things, but I just know I’m a fighter. I feel like this is why I’ll be good at this game, because I am not going to give up.

She stated: ‘I’m going to help the faithfuls track down the traitors.’

The reality star has already had brushes with fame having appeared on Katie Piper’s Extraordinary People podcast, and worked with brands including Primark. She has also written her own book In My New Normal, where she further opens up about her journey.

Kasim passionately defended himself (Picture: The Traitors)

Elsewhere in last night’s episode Kasim found himself under scrutiny, with Jake remarking the doctor ‘saves people by day, and murders at night’. The comments were flung at Kasim during the nightly roundtable, where each player had to vote for who they wanted to leave the show. The faithfuls are hoping to catch a traitor before they can be murdered, and the traitors are trying to remain undetected.

Kasim didn’t take kindly to the accusation and fired back: ‘You’re basically calling me Harold Shipman.’ Shipman was a GP who took the lives of an estimated 250 of his patients over two decades before being caught.

Despite the traitor accusations flying at Kasim, he managed to save himself and it was Armani who got the axe. She’s the first traitor to be banished in the murder mystery game.

Now, it’s just Linda and Minah left to continue trying to fool the faithfuls. They will be given the opportunity to recruit in upcoming episodes, but it will mean sacrificing a murder.

Both teams are committed to staying until the final roundtable as a prize pot of £120,000 is up for grabs.

We’ll have to wait until Wednesday (cry!) to find out what happens next, but the end of the episode teased the return of some familiar faces.

The Traitors continues on Wednesday from 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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