Jessie on BBC's The Traitors

Friday 2nd January 2026 - 09:34

A young woman sitting in an armchair with her arms open

Jessie on the Traitors (Courtesy of BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry)

The latest series of the BBC show includes a contestant with a stammer.

*Updated 23^rd January 2026

The mega-hit reality show The Traitors, which sees contestants battle it out in a game of trust and deception, began its fourth series on BBC One last night.

Included in the group of 22 people taking part, was 28-year-old Jessie from Yorkshire, who, when introducing herself, told fellow contestants that she stammers. She then immediately opened up about how difficult saying her name was, and was met with gestures of support from those around her.

Only last year we wrote a blog post wondering ‘What if someone who stammers was on The Traitors’, saying how much of a coup it would be for the stammering community, seeing as it’s such a high-profile TV show.

Read our blog post reacting to 'Seeing Jessie, someone who stammers, on The Traitors'.

Update, 23^rd January

Sadly, Jessie missed out on a place in the final week after she fell victim to the Traitors. But she did brilliantly in not only getting so far in the game, but also representing and normalising people who stammer on TV, something we celebrate in our blog post 'Jessie’s win for the stammering community'.

Two STAMMA members have also written articles about Jessie. Hayley Rawlings tells us about being interviewed on TV and radio by the BBC, who contacted her to talk about The Traitors. Also, our former Chair Leys Geddes praises Jessie and reflects on his own media appearances following The King's Speech in 2010.