The Traitors winner Jake Brown’s brave life-long ‘struggle’ with cerebral palsy

The Traitors star Jake Brown has bravely opened up about his life-long condition (Picture: BBC / Studio Lambert)

The Traitors star Jake Brown has officially become one of the new champions of the BBC gameshow, and won over his fellow Faithfuls and the hearts of the nation.

The 28-year-old project manager became one of the last two remaining Faithfuls on Claudia Winkleman’s murder mystery series, and managed to escape with few suspicions on him.

He had played a strong game both on the roundtable – where he was one of the first to voice the idea that Linda Rands was, in fact, a Traitor – and during the brutal missions.

And after all the lies, betrayals, brutal murders and shocking roundtables, he walked away with a staggering sum of £94,600, split with his fellow Faithful Leanne Quigley.

Speaking after his win, he said: ‘The game is a game, and I’m just glad that I was true to myself because that’s what it is all about.

‘You need to back yourself, be yourself and defend yourself when you need to.’

Jake and Leanne were crowned our winners of seeason 3 (Picture: BBC / Studio Lambert)

It was a tense few moments (Picture: BBC)

Jake’s win came after he revealed during a challenge that he suffers from cerebral palsy.

Speaking to fellow Faithful Alexander Dragonetti as they heaved stone statues up and down the castle grounds, Jake – who was left dangling out of a helicopter in the final challenge yesterday – explained that he found the task difficult with gripping the objects, rather than the weight of them.

He said: ‘I’ve got cerebral palsy, so it wasn’t the weight, it was the grip. I basically just carried it with one hand.

‘So I was born with cerebral palsy, which affects my right arm and right leg.

‘It’s been a struggle growing up, knowing that I’m not the same as everybody else.

‘I would always be constantly looking in the mirror trying to see what my arm looked like or what my leg looked like.

‘But it’s something I was born with and it’s never going to go away.’

Jake was widely praised for opening up about his disability (Picture: BBC)

‘I had some challenges growing up with my disability, so I’d want to give back to Mum and Dad. I always say they’re Superman and Superwoman,’ Jake said, before winning the game (Picture: BBC / Studio Lambert)

He went on: ‘Sometimes because people don’t realise, they assume that there’s no issues or struggles but there obviously is, like my grip’s not good.

‘In the past, I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it, I would have struggled in silence but now I feel comfortable just being like, “This is an issue I’ve got, I need some help.”‘

Jake went on to reveal that he played for England’s cerebral palsy football team, where he met other people with the same disability and became ‘more confident’ after hearing their stories.

‘Even though my body is weaker than the average person, I’ve always been very vocal and opinionated,’ he continued.

‘Even if I look weaker physically, mentally, I’m so, so strong.’

Jake explained to Alexander that he had trouble with his grip during the challenge (Picture: BBC)

He had trouble with the stone statues that were being heaved across the castle’s grounds (Picture: BBC)

Later in the episode, Jake spoke about how if he won The Traitors, he’d put money towards helping his parents after their support for him growing up.

He told the seven other remaining players: ‘Obviously, I had some challenges growing up with my disability, so I’d want to give back to Mum and Dad. I always say they’re Superman and Superwoman.’

He added he wanted to take his parents on holiday as a treat for them, and would also look at putting some of the prize-pot to renovating his home with his wife.

The Traitors viewers have widely praised Jake for his bravery in opening up and raising awareness, with one, Joss, writing on X: ‘Jake talking about his Cerebral Palsy and how it can be quite hidden from most people on #thetraitors is something that makes me very happy. Kudos from another Cerebral Palsy-haver.’

‘Even if I look weaker physically, mentally, I’m so, so strong,’ the star said (Picture: Cody Burridge/BBC/PA Wire)

Ciara said: ‘Great to listen to Jake highlight disability in tonight’s episode. We hardly ever see it spoken about in the media & to hear him explain it in tonight’s #TheTraitorsUK episode was awesome!’

Keira added: ‘Jake just summed up the experience for so many people with disabilities “even if i look weaker physically mentally i’m so so strong”.’

‘Great to listen to Jake highlight #HiddenDisability in tonight’s episode. We hardly ever see it spoken about in the media & to hear him explain it in tonight’s #TheTraitorsUK episode was awesome,’ Grant wrote.

Leigh added: ‘Jake’s cerebral palsy story is a masterclass in introducing a personal story in reality TV. Authentic, genuine, not staged. This show is just perfection.’

Jake wants to win the cash prize to treat his parents after their support for him throughout his life (Picture: BBC)

Ahead of taking part in the series, Jake said: ‘I’m so competitive. I make everything into a game, so even when I’m doing a chore, or a task around the house or something, I’ll challenge myself do it in a certain amount of time.

‘And if I’m playing a game with people and someone says, “it doesn’t matter, it’s just a game,” I’m always thinking, if I’m doing something I’m in it to win it!

‘There’s no point in playing a game for second place. Go in to win it, or you may as well not bother.’

The Traitors is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

This article was originally published on January 17, 2025.

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