Hands up if you had the mohawked ex-England prop forward down as the show’s cult hero? With his dry wit, dogged deductive skills and double helpings of lasagne, the inscrutable man-mountain has emerged as an unexpected favourite. He initially had an endearing “Joemance” with his namesake, comedian Mr Wilkinson. When his best buddy was murdered, Marler vowed vengeance. He duly formed a little-and-large detective duo with Nick Mohammed.
His suspicions have occasionally been scattergun, but he had Jonathan Ross in his crosshairs for several episodes, having hatched his infamous “big dogs theory”. Marler is now convinced, entirely correctly, that the remaining Traitors are Cat Burns and Alan Carr. He’s been on to Carr since clocking him forgetting that he had an immunity shield. Like his sleuthing sidekick Nick, he plans to stay close to the pair, then pull the rug out from under them.
The loveable giant is fond of his “hundies” and has taken David Olusoga into his confidence, rallying both surviving Faithful to his side. However, he still harbours doubts about the TV historian. In return, David distrusts Joe and has questioned his confrontational behaviour at Round Tables.
People might wonder why, as a vocal Traitor-hunter, Marler hasn’t been murdered, which in itself looks suspicious. Could this be enough to prevent a win? Marler needs to rein in his tendency to become prickly and paranoid. If he can take emotion out of the equation, curb his sceptical instincts and call an end to the game at the right time, he could walk away with a well-earned share of the prize pot.
Chance of success: 6/10
