The Traitors 2026 star Matthew Hyndman’s nude modelling career might surprise fans
"There’s a certain cheekiness at play here," says Hyndman
By Aaron Sugg
The Traitors 2026 star Matthew Hyndman is a celebrated nude model and photographer whose work has been exhibited at Edinburgh gallery Bard Scotland and featured in Wallpaper magazine.
Hyndman made his Traitors debut on New Year’s Day as part of the fourth series of the BBC reality show, in which 22 people from across the UK descend on a Scottish castle to compete for a prize of up to £120,000.
The 35‑year‑old creative director, based in Edinburgh, is one of this year’s publicly LGBTQ+ contestants.
“There’s a certain cheekiness at play here” – Matthew Hyndman on his nude photographic series Upended
He is best known for his photographic series Upended, in which he appears naked and performing headstands in scenic Scottish landscapes, describing it as an “act of defiance and liberation”.
The work has been exhibited at Bard Gallery in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. Hyndman prides himself on his photography standing out from traditional landscape shots.
“Against the great tradition of Scottish landscape photography, there’s a certain cheekiness at play here,” he said in a statement. “For all that I have overcome personally, ultimately what makes me happiest is when people laugh at the sheer gumption.”
“The decision to be naked feels too loaded” – Hyndman on being photographed nude in a headstand
On his alternative approach to landscape photography, he added: “Being on my head feels like an important form of abstraction; otherwise the decision to be naked feels too loaded.”
As well as being a head‑standing model, he is a co‑founder of the Ban Conversion Therapy group, campaigning against conversion practices and continuing to lobby the government on LGBTQ+ rights.
Among the few confirmed LGBTQ+ contestants on The Traitors, including cyber security consultant Stephen, Hyndman revealed he plans to use any prize money to help fund his wedding to his fiancé.
The Traitors continues on 2 January at 8.00 pm and 3 January at 7.45 pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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