Claudia Winkleman is said to be returning to host a celebrity version of The Traitors, due to air in 2025.
Proving that there are few things more compelling to watch than a bunch of people conniving and scheming behind each other’s backs in a Scottish castle, The Traitors has been a confirmed hit for the BBC. The second series aired in January, and as we wrote at the time, it was manipulative but thoroughly addictive television.
According to Deadline, the series – which already has several incarnations in other countries – is about to be expanded further, with regular host Claudia Winkleman set to head up a celebrity version.
The series hasn’t been officially announced yet, but Deadline’s sources have said that an agreement between The Traitors’ production company Studio Lambert and the BBC “is close”. If it happens, the celebrity Traitors series will film in 2025 alongside a third series of the mainline show. Both series will then air later next year.
In exporting The Traitors to the US in early 2023, Studio Lambert mixed the formula up a bit by mixing everyday people with minor celebrities – among the familiar faces in the second series of the American Traitors was ex-House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow. The BBC is reportedly aiming a bit higher for the UK’s celebrity Traitors, though, with Friends star Courteney Cox rumoured to be among the lineup.
Interestingly, the US and UK versions of the show are said to be filmed simultaneously, which must make things somewhat complicated from a logistical standpoint. Actor Alan Cumming hosts the US version of the show, though the concept remains the same: contestants are divided into ‘Faithful’ and ‘Traitor’ groups, but none of the Faithfuls know who the Traitors are. The aim of the game is therefore to single out the Traitors before they can ‘murder’ the Faithfuls each night.
If there’s one reliable takeaway from the series, it’s that human beings are broadly terrible at figuring out who’s lying, with most group decisions based on who looked at them a bit funny over breakfast. It’s probably this element that has turned an otherwise simple reality TV-gameshow hybrid into a ratings smash.
