Bestselling crime novelist Harriet Tyce is already making waves in the Castle, and her performance in the opening episodes has been nothing short of spectacular.
Harriet making waves in this season’s hit BBC show The Traitors
Harriet’s fifth novel is due out next month
Harriet’s debut novel Blood Orange became a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, launching her career as one of Britain’s most accomplished psychological crime writers. She has since published three more critically acclaimed thrillers – The Lies You Told (2021), It Ends at Midnight (2022), and A Lesson in Cruelty (2024) – with her fifth, Witch Trial, due out in February 2026.
Drawing on her decade-long career as a criminal barrister and her expertise in crafting stories about deception and hidden motives, Harriet is captivating viewers with her strategic, calm approach to the game. After just three episodes, her name has been trending on social media following the use of her formidable cross-examining skills at the Round Table which helped take down Traitor Hugo – who also happened to be a barrister!
What made it even more remarkable was that Harriet has not yet told any of the other contestants about her legal background, so none of them realised they were watching a former barrister skilfully dismantle another lawyer’s defence. It’s also the earliest a Traitor has been detected in any series so far.
Paying It Forward
Beyond her own remarkable success, Harriet has demonstrated a profound commitment to supporting emerging writers. She initiated and personally funded the Novel Studio Scholarship for four years – providing a fully funded place for one successful applicant from a low-income household each year. It was her way of ‘paying it forward’ to writers who might not otherwise have access to such transformative opportunities.
The scholarship, now continued under generous new sponsorship by George Politis as the Captain Tasos Politis Scholarship, stands as testament to Harriet’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of novelists and ensuring diverse voices can break into publishing.
In her typically generous style, if she wins The Traitors Harriet has pledged to donate the entire prize fund to a cancer charity.
Join Our Writing Community
We’re incredibly proud of Harriet and can’t wait to see what she does next in the castle!
Interested in finding out more about the course Harriet took at City St Georges? Join us for a free taster session tomorrow night to find out more about our creative writing courses as well as all the other courses we offer from business to creative industries, computing, languages and law . Register here.