There are few performances that are worthy of global recognition. Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant. Beyoncé at Coachella. Linda from The Traitors.
The 70-year-old retired opera singer has successfully shot into the BBC hall of fame, thanks to her distinct lack of subtlety, sheer ignorance of her fellow players' suspicions, and legendary one-liners. And honestly? We love her for it.
For those not in the know, the premise of The Traitors is simple. 22 competitors descend on a castle in the Scottish highlands, to vie for a prize fund of £120k. Of those participants, three are Traitors, and 19 are Faithful. While the Traitors are given the ability to 'murder' a Faithful each night, the Faithful must try and banish a Traitor via group voting in the day.
This season, one of the baddies attempting to go undetected is Linda: a retiree from Hertfordshire, with purple-tinted hair, Iris Apfel-esque glasses, and a penchant for clumsily delivering red herrings at the breakfast table.
Her greatest hits are too vast to name, outdoing herself with her attempted treachery time and time again: the way she managed to be both camp and cutting in her take down of Anna's rope-tying ability. The pantomime villain energy when she fake cried over Livi's murder. Her gloriously misdirected outburst at Francesca after her name was brought up at the round table.
Then there's the dumbfounded face she's got on lock, pulling a "shocked reaction" straight from the GCSE drama prop box when she finds out about what 'the Traitors' have done. The beauty. The brilliance. GET IT IN THE LOUVRE.
Linda's also a fan of the deflection defence, accusing each and every Faithful that suspects her of being a Traitor, of being a Traitor. "I know you are, but what am I?" she practically retaliates, any time anyone vaguely looks in her direction. It's amazing. It's iconic. We're obsessed.
As fans on X summarised it, "She is so unsubtle in her tactics but I can't question her. LINDA LIVES TO MURDER ANOTHER DAY." Someone else put, "The camera cutting to Linda smirking when Claudia says 'the Traitors are laughing' is so iconic" and "Linda’s acting is atrocious but she’s one of the most iconic players across the whole 3 seasons so far because of it."
Perhaps one of the best parts of her performance - and what makes it feel quite so indulgent - is Linda's lack of awareness of suspicion surrounding her. Having gleefully murdered Livi the night before, Linda told the confessional camera she was 'ready to show Jake I'm emotional and perform like it's the last role of my life', by weeping in front of her fellow competitors over how sad she was.
"She's my little girl," Linda cooed, as she furiously tried to force a tear out. But rather than receiving sympathy for showing her 'Faithful' nature, Linda faced the intense wrath of speculation over her random outburst, and suspicion was laid at her door.
So while Linda's days might be numbered as a result, we'll be rooting for her and her hilarious, head-spinningly (ahem) blatant Traitorous behaviour. Oh it's all just so wonderfully camp.
The Traitors continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
