Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy? | Global News Avenue

This article contains some discussion of the first episode of Renegade, but does not contain major spoilers, such as who the new traitor is, or who is murdered or exiled.

There have been plot twists in the third series of BBC’s Renegade, with a contestant from London revealing her charming but fake Welsh accent.

Charlotte, 33, had lived in London her whole life but decided to pretend she was from Abergavenny in Monmouthshire to maximize her chances of survival.

“I’ve always done a Welsh accent because my mum is from Wales and it’s one of the most trusted accents,” she told the camera on New Year’s Day.

But it’s a lilting Welsh song real As a loyal fan of the show, what’s the key to earning people’s trust—maybe in life?

The reality show centers on renegades chosen by host Claudia Winkleman who must deceive and win the trust of other loyal contestants.

Dr Mercedes Durham, professor of sociolinguistics at Cardiff University, led research into the popularity of Welsh accents and found that people associated Welsh accents with friendliness, but not necessarily intelligence.

“They genuinely appreciate it, they find it interesting, engaging and friendly, but they don’t take it seriously or connect it to intelligence,” Dr Durham said.

But Dr. Durham said friendliness and trustworthiness are linked, so there may be a method behind the mask.

Inspiration may have come from previous Welsh players, Andrew Jenkins from Talbot Green, Rhonda Senon-Taff and Amanda Lovett from Swansea, who finished in the first and second rounds Zhongdu eliminated the loyal fans and narrowly missed out on the Renegades trophy.

Amanda successfully completed the first season in 2023, and her opponents swore in their hearts that this humble character would never become a traitor.

Amanda said: “I think the Welsh accent is very relaxed and it definitely lends itself to people believing I’m a motherly figure.”

“Maybe they didn’t think I was sharp enough or the kind of person who could kill someone, maybe I was too naive,” she added.

“But I don’t know if I agree with reducing our Welsh accent,” Amanda said with a smile. “We are very proud of our Welsh heritage.”

Amanda said Renegades fans might even be wary of the Welsh contestants this time around, as both she and Andrew had charming accents to the end.

Andrew admitted the Welsh accent was trustworthy, but said he could spot Charlotte’s feint a mile away.

“Oh, I think it’s too bad, she keeps doing a Cockney accent,” he said.

“I just thought the Welsh people were lovely, friendly, trustworthy and I went in and it felt real.

“I try to make as many friends as possible and just be honest about who I am, and I think that helps.”

Charlotte isn’t the only Welsh person in this year’s competition, with Ellen from Cardiff hailing from North Wales and Leanne from Holywell in Flintshire.

Dr Durham said there was a lot of variation in Welsh accents and people tended to relate more to certain regions.

“Thanks to Gavin and Stacey, the main places of interaction for people outside of Wales are the South Wales Valleys and the Isle of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan,” she said.

“It’s probably easier to associate the accent with Wales than the other two contestants.”

The Welsh accent has attracted new contact centers to set up or expand in Wales in recent years, including Starling Bank, Capital on Tap, Veezu and TCH Group.

One company chooses Newport over Middlesbrough, Teesside to set up funeral planning business because A “comforting” and “empathetic” Welsh accent.

Sandra Busby, chief executive of Cnect Wales, which provides support for contact centres, said Wales had always been an attractive location for a number of reasons, among which accent “played a part”.

She added: “For many years the Welsh accent has consistently ranked in the top three in surveys of friendly and trustworthy regional accents.”

A study by the University of Sheffield and Spa Seekers revealed that the Welsh accent was ranked as the most relaxed accent in the UK in 2024.

Dr Durham said the public had a soft spot for all Celtic accents, including Irish and Scottish, because of their friendly connotations.

Received pronunciation, also known as Queen’s English, easily wins people’s trust, but mostly because of its social prestige.

But Birmingham, Liverpool and London accents tend to be less popular and can be found in the bottom half of polls.

Trust in accents can change over time, depending on our social circles and day-to-day relationships, according to a study by Ilaria Torre at the University of Plymouth.

Participants heard either a standard southern British accent or a “less believable” Liverpudlian accent, with attitudes changing based on first impressions and judgments.

If a person who speaks with a “trustworthy” accent continues to behave fairly, the first impression of trustworthiness will increase.

However, if they continue to behave unfairly, they will be viewed as less trustworthy than those with less trustworthy accents and behaviors.

Ms Torre said the participants were “punishing them, so to speak, for not living up to the expectations of the participants”.

On the other hand, those who were deemed to sound “untrustworthy” and had a Liverpudlian accent but behaved well were able to reverse the negative stereotype.

So while the lilting Welsh melody might make you a worthy contestant, the chances are still good.

With a mix of different accents from across the UK, what does the Welsh look like?

You can find out – the first three episodes of Traitor are Now streaming on BBC iPlayerepisodes air on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 21:00 GMT on BBC One.