Alexander Dragonetti is a Faithful in The Traitors (UK)/Series 3.
Profile[]
Retrieved from BBC:
Age: 38
Occupation: Former British Diplomat
Location: London
Why did you apply to be on The Traitors?
Firstly, I love doing new things, and I always take opportunities where I can. I just finished visiting all 15 of London’s disused underground stations. When I was in Bologna recently, I went down the sewers. I went to Murmansk a couple of years ago to see the world's northernmost McDonald's and nuclear icebreaker. I've lived around the world in different countries. I hope this will be something I’ll enjoy... and if not, it’ll be something new!
Secondly, I think it would be fun to bring my diplomatic skills to the game - a diplomat is meant to win people over and be good at influencing and negotiating!
And finally, it's a show with heart.
What do you think you'll bring to the game?
I’d like to think I have an ability to get on with a wide range of people. I've lived around the world, working with everyone from victims of attacks or natural disasters, local tribes, schoolchildren, politicians and briefly royalty. I’m meant to build relationships for a living, so I’d like to think I have a good radar for who I can trust! Either way, I’m looking forward to meeting some people with interesting backgrounds in the castle.
I’m quite resilient – I worked on human rights and negotiations in conflict zones and used to lead fast-response teams to crises overseas. So, I’m hopeful I’ll be relatively calm in quite a pressurised environment. That said, there's a large element of luck so there’s a good chance I go in saying this and then get voted out on day one! I don't think there's a huge amount you can do about that.
Hopefully I'll also bring warmth and humour!
What did you think of the previous series?
I thought series one and two were quite different. I thought in the first series people were figuring out the game as they went along, and I think in the second people were much more suspicious and craftier! I loved the intrigue. I like the fact that people seem to bond so strongly, I think that's really interesting even when they know that there's a risk that there's people amongst them that they shouldn't bond with, people can't help it and do take emotive decisions, we saw that in the final of the last series.
Was there anyone’s game plan you admired?
I think the people that play the game particularly well are people that are smart and pretend to be less so. For example, Harry is a smart guy, but he plays this cheeky chappy, who couldn't hurt a fly, except every so often puts his head above the parapet to assassinate somebody then goes back down again. And then there are some people who maybe aren’t as suspicious of others or get close to Traitors and stay in the game that way. I think that can also work!
What do you think you'll bring to the game? You’ve touched on your skills in your current position.
It’s one of those things where it's easy to say yeah, I’ve got this like everybody does. One thing life teaches you is you don't really know until you get there. So maybe I have forged strong relationships with some unusual groups but that doesn't mean it will work the same way. I don't really know, but I think remaining open is probably not a bad plan.
Do you have a game plan?
Watch and wait. If there's one thing my job teaches me it's to listen and watch more than you talk, at least initially. And take a genuine interest in others and do your processing inside your head.
Are you competitive?
Yes, I’ve always been quite competitive. In my education and career I’ve found myself in environments that encouraged me to push myself. Although I'm pretty competitive I do try and pretend not to be, because it can make you seem like a horrible human being!
Do you think you’ll be good at the Missions? What strengths do you think you might bring to them?
I like to think I’m a good team player. I'm good at finding a role in a group that's needed. I am good at corralling people and bringing them together.
The last thing you need is too many leaders. It’s best to find your role. If the group lacks somebody to go do a miserable task, then fine, I'll do the thing that needs doing. I don't have a big ego, I just want to get things done. If people are not pulling their weight or not trying, I think I'll find that difficult and I’ll show it.
If you are a Traitor, how do you think you'll feel?
I've thought about this. My life has been sort of one of public service from secondary school teacher, diplomat, civil servant, trying to do stuff that's good. I think naturally I'm more Faithful. I think I can be leaky with my emotions and that worries me, I wish I wasn’t. I think I'd find it stressful to lie because I don't generally, but I also think I'd be reasonably good at it.
It feels a bit to me, like in Harry Potter when the sorting hat is like “you can be in Slytherin or you can be in Gryffindor?” The point is it shoves Harry into Gryffindor, not because he couldn’t be a good Slytherin but because he asked to be. I feel a bit the same. My natural moral compass always points me that direction, but there's a part of me that I think has the capability and also would enjoy being a Traitor.
Would you say you’ve got a good poker face?
If I find somebody a bit oblivious or if I’m getting annoyed, I’ll tend to show it and it's not my best characteristic. But if I need to hide something as part of a strategy, then I think I’ll just compartmentalise it and I just become unemotional about it.
If you are a Traitor, how far are you prepared to go to win the game?
Would I do anything within the game? Yes, but so would everybody. You’re not actually being malicious or nasty, you're just playing the game.
If you're a Faithful, what do you think your game plan would be?
I think what you want is strong relationships, that's your first buffer so that people tend not to take against you or dislike you. Ideally, you’d also stay mid-pack in the earlier stages – try not to stand out in any way – we’ve seen a few times someone make a light-hearted comment that then becomes huge at the Round Table!
I think I’ll also need to establish some sort of narrative about why I’m working for the good of the group and for me, that's public service. I’ll then try to build up trust - one really interesting thing about your role as a Faithful is that you never have to lie, unless you want to.
How good are you at spotting a liar?
Not very good and I say this because everybody's not very good. Nobody's good at spotting a liar and that's partly anecdotal, we've all been caught out. We know by watching the TV show people get it wrong almost all the time, and we know from studies that almost every person’s ability to spot a liar is about 55/45. So, I think what I bring is self-awareness on that more than I would bring capability.
If you are a Faithful, what qualities do you think you're going to need to make it through to the final?
Maybe awareness of my own capabilities (both good and bad!), but also, an ability to watch and learn from others – are they being consistent and are they leaving clues? I still think you can pick up a lot from people, even if you can't spot a liar.
Have I taken notes from both series? Yes. Do I think I know what the tells are? Yes. Would I keep notes at the end of every day and run them? Yes. Would I tell people? No, that would be weird, it also makes me look a bit strange. What you can do is sift the evidence and I suspect if you keep it on enough people, over time I bet people slip up.
There’s also an interesting point that it doesn't really matter if you identify Traitors at the start because they'll just be replaced - you’re better holding on to your theories until later in the game...
If you win the prize money, what do you think you'll spend it on?
Part of it I'd give to a charity called The Royal Mencap Society – my brother used to go to a Mencap holiday every year and it gives respite for parents so that special needs kids can have a holiday and so can parents, which was awesome. I was a carer at Mencap five years running and I really enjoyed it, my brother really enjoyed it and my parents got a break too and I'd like to help bankroll that a bit.
I'd also like to buy a flat because civil servant salaries are not as large as people think they are![1]
Game History[]
| Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Banished: Episode 12 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traitors' Decision | Voluntary Forfeit | Selected | N.A. |
Survived | Survived Death Match | Survived | Survived | Survived | Survived | N.A. | |||||
| Shield Wins | N.A. |
Lost | Lost | N.A. |
Lost | Lost | Lost | Lost the Seer | N.A. | ||||||
| Banishment Vote | No Vote |
Lisa | Linda | Leanne | Alex | Leon | Minah | Freddie | Charlotte | Banish Again | Leanne | ||||
| Voted With Group? | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |||||
| Votes Received | - | - | Linda & Lisa | - | - | Leanne | - | - | N.A. |
Francesca, Jake & Leanne | |||||
References[]
- ↑ The Traitors Series 3 Contestants - Meet the players joining Claudia Winkleman in the castle | BBC Media Centre — January 1, 2025
| The Traitors (UK)/Series 3 Contestants | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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