When one supreme falls, another shall rise in her place. And when it comes to The Traitors, no one is more fitting to take on the mantle of fan-favourite Linda (RIP) than our beloved Alexander. From his team spirit and ability to find light in a tense situation, to his emotional vulnerability, not to mention his excellent knitwear selection. For once we’ve found ourselves rooting for a Faithful to win.

Alexander (never Alex btw) is one of the 25 contestants taking part in this year’s series of The Traitors. The competition series sees the cast compete in a series of challenges to be in with a chance of walking away with £120,000. However, the cast must also work out who amongst them are the ‘Traitors’ and banish them before they ‘murder’ the Faithful, and walk away with all the prize money.

During the first episode of the show, before the contestants even arrived at the castle in the Scottish Highlands, the group were tasked with getting three people off the train, forfeiting their places on the series. Alexander joined Fozia and Jack in volunteering to get off the train; a selfless act that showed the strength of his character from day dot. Thankfully, Alexander, alongside Fozia, managed to rejoin the series later on, and has been a much needed presence in the castle ever since.

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BBC

With so much talk this season about the series getting too intense and personal, Alexander is bringing much needed hilarity and lightness to an increasingly strained show. His meme-worthy moments have been many, but to name a few: his operatic singing in the doll challenge, his shocked facial expressions during the death card game and, of course, when he flung himself into the bushes while playing badminton. He's unintentionally given viewers so much to chuckle about amidst the chaos.

But he’s more than just a few laughs. Alexander appears to be the only contestant who acknowledges the fact the show is *just a game*. Maybe it’s down to his background as a British diplomat, but he’s incredibly calm, and still manages to keep humanity in situations that the others find themselves stressed at.

During the most recent round table, when Joe was attacking Alexander for saying he wasn’t thinking straight when deciding who should get the shield (this was after he carried three stone torsos up the hill btw), he asked Joe to be “respectful” while presenting his theories for who the Traitors are.

And he’s right. Yes, the accusations need to be made, but they can also be done in a way that doesn’t assassinate people’s characters or use unkindness to get there.

Alexander is a reminder that reality TV doesn’t need to be toxic to be entertaining. He’s the ultimate example of someone who is quietly confident and doesn't need to be the loudest person in the room. But when he does speak, people listen to him. He presents his Traitor theories without criticising other people's character. He's intelligent, without being condescending.

During the dinner party in episode nine, Alexander spoke about his younger brother who had global developmental delay, and cited him as his motivation to win the money in order to support the summer camp his brother used to go. It was a rare, refreshing moment - to see a man open up and be so vulnerable on screen about his childhood and his sibling relationship. It's something we’re desperately missing in the reality TV space.

With more attention on him than ever, it feels inevitable that Alexander may not make it to the final. But a tiny part of us is really hoping this intelligent, kind team player may just be the Faithful to go all the way.

The Traitors continues on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer