Following the success of the civilian version of The Traitors, the BBC is currently in the process of assembling a star-studded lineup for its celebrity spin-off edition.
Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the reality TV show follows a group of ordinary people living together in a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Among them are a secret number of “Traitors”, who must conspire to eliminate the “Faithfuls” in the group without being detected.
The show, in its original format, has been a huge success for the broadcaster. Earlier this year, over 7 million people watched contestant Harry Clark, 23, win £95,150 after deceiving his friend Mollie Pearce in the season finale.
A third season has been recorded and is set to air in January 2025, with a fourth already in the works alongside a celebrity edition.
According to reports, the BBC have been inspired to cast a famous duo, after the popularity of paired contestants including mother and son Diane and Ross from the latest series, and couple Tom and Alex who secretly conspired together in the first series.
Those pairing up could include football stars, father and son duo Jamie and Harry Redknapp, tennis royalty Judy and Andy Murray or the married presenting couple Vernon Kay and Tess Daly.
A source told The Sun: “Although the famous couple won’t have any secrecy around the fact they are linked, it will still create huge amounts of suspicion and paranoia and really test allegiances.”
“Will family ties prevent them from stabbing their relative or partner in the back?
“Would it warp the normal dynamic between the Traitors when it comes time to ‘murder’ their loved ones?
“Bosses know the intrigue will make for great telly, as they’ve seen how it stirs things up in previous series.
“Signing up Tess [Daly] would be compulsive viewing as obviously she and Claudia are good friends from co-hosting Strictly Come Dancing.”
The BBC declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.
Planning for the forthcoming celebrities series is already underway. It will be filmed in the show’s original location, Andross Castle in the Scottish Highlands.
The celebrity version of the show’s format has already been tested in the US, with the cast including former Love Island contestant Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Real Housewives stars Tamra Judge and Phaedra Parks, and former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow.
The BBC confirmed the news of the UK celebrity series during the Edinburgh TV festival in August, but did not disclose specific details about the cast or release date.
Announcing the news, BBC’s head of entertainment, Kalpna Patel-Knight said: “The Traitors has well and truly established itself as an unmissable highlight of the year and the news of a fourth outing, alongside a brand new celebrity version coming to the BBC, will take the series to a whole new level.
“It will once again be fascinating for our audiences to see who’ll outwit, outplay, and outlast. Let the mind games begin!”
