Winner of The Traitors Stephen Libby received a hero’s welcome as he returned home to the Outer Hebrides.
Residents of the Isle of Lewis celebrated the triumph of their local ‘happy chappy’ who bagged the prize money alongside co-conspirator Rachel Duffy – the first time a pair of Traitors have won the show.
Those who know the 32-year-old insist he is honest by nature, and would have found it ‘quite difficult’ to deceive his fellow contestants.
Stephen and Rachel lied their way to victory in the BBC reality gameshow after forming a pact early on, where they agreed never to write each other’s names on their slates.
They outmanoeuvred all the faithful contestants to ensure they were the final two standing at the round table in the final, which pulled in a peak audience of 9.6 million.
The two Traitors remained faithful to each other and so will split the prize pot of £95,750, taking home £47,875 each.
Stephen, a cybersecurity consultant, hails from the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides but now lives in London.
He went back to the island’s capital Stornoway last week ahead of the final episode airing, visiting the Blue Lobster café where his father Donald’s woodcraft and pop-art work is on display.
Stephen Libby returned home to the Isle of Lewis and visited the Blue Lobster Cafe, as pictured here with his father Donald’s artwork
Stephen has an honest nature, according to those who know him, and would have found the need to deceive difficult
The Traitors winners Stephen Libby and Rachel Duffy each scooped £47,875 on the hit BBC series
The café shared a video of a cloaked Stephen winking at the camera while drinking a coffee, and said they are ‘so extremely proud of this island lad for representing the Isle of Lewis with such impeccable style & so very graciously’.
Jayne Macritchie, owner of the Blue Lobster, said Stephen’s family is ‘ecstatic’ at his win, and that the island community was gripped by the final episode on Friday evening.
She said: ‘I was completely glued, I’ve never watched it before. We were all glued.’
Ms Macritchie knows Stephen from his youth on Lewis and said he would have struggled with need to deceive.
She said: ‘He’s just such a lovely, happy chappy. He’s such a genuine person.
‘I’m pretty sure he would have found it quite difficult.’
She said she never doubted that Stephen would stick to his pact with Rachel, a director of communications from Newry in Northern Ireland.
Ms Macritchie said: ‘I think as an islander, keeping a promise to someone is quite important.
‘I feel the Celts are all similar in their ways and their loyalties.’
The Sandwick Bay Candles gift shop across town posted a picture of a new candle they have developed in Stephen’s honour, bearing the message ‘There’s a traitor on this island.’
The shop wrote: ‘Think I may have to make some more of these now. Go Stephen!’
Stephen grappled with his trust in Rachel, wondering whether she would maintain her side of the pact
Rachel was brilliant at deceiving her fellow contestants, but in the end remained faithful to Stephen
Tour company Heb360 also posted online to congratulate Stephen, saying: ‘The Islands are full of surprises.’
Eilidh Laing, vice-chairwoman of the HebCelt festival, which celebrates music and culture in the Outer Hebrides, said it was a ‘fantastic surprise’ for the close-knit island community.
She said you could see Stephen’s ‘internal moral conflict’ etched across his face right to the end.
She continued: ‘I’m so pleased he did it, he’s such a lovely guy and I think that really came through.
‘The whole community was completely behind him.’
Ms Laing added: ‘I think islanders might be underestimated a lot of the time. I think he proved a lot of people wrong about that.
‘Islanders are incredibly resilient people.’
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Stephen and Rachel spoke about their dramatic victory on Friday night’s instalment of spin-off show, The Traitors: Uncloaked, where they relived the nail-biting final with their fellow contestants.
Asked how it felt watching the final episode back, Rachel admitted the experience left her emotional.
She said: ‘I was so nervous for Stephen, so watching it back, it made me cry.’
Stephen added: ‘I didn’t know what I was going to do, watching it back, I can see in my face. I’m just so proud of the decision that I made, proud of myself and Rachel.’
Earlier in the series, Stephen had expressed doubts over whether Rachel would keep her side of the pact they made never to write each other’s names on their slates at the roundtable.
But speaking after their win, the pair explained why they remained loyal to the agreement, despite moments of uncertainty.
Rachel said: ‘I knew from the minute it came out of my mouth I wouldn’t break the pact and I thought this is a new game for me I’m not breaking it.’
Stephen added: ‘It’s so hard to trust someone in there whose job it is to lie and so I was really struggling to see how Rachel could hold onto that pact for the whole game which is why to the end I was wobbling.’
