'I AM A BBC TRAITORS SUPERFAN - I HAVE ONE MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE CELEBRITY LINEUP'

The castle, the cloaks, the Winkleman fringe. The Traitors is back - but this time with a twist as the Scottish castle is full of some of Britain's leading celebrities. If you're unfamiliar with The Traitors, allow me to explain. It provides unparalleled levels of suspense. It makes us question at least twice per episode why anyone would want to go on this show. Most importantly, it has given us endless entertainment. It's the perfect treat to get us through an otherwise long and dreary October. But when the celebrity lineup was officially revealed last month, I couldn't help but shake off an unsettling feeling. My major concern is that most of these famous faces already know each other.

Alan Carr, Lucy Beaumont, Joe Wilkinson, and Nick Mohammed are all comedians. Meanwhile, Clare Balding and Kate Garraway, and Jonathan Ross are huge presenters in the world of television. They will have all crossed paths in the outside world.

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Paloma Faith and Cat Burns are both singers, so I guess they might have mingled at similar musical events. Celia Imrie and Stephen Fry are both actors, and I would be shocked if they didn't know a lot about each other. What's more, Mark Bonnor and Ruth Codd are also in the acting world. Tom Daley and Joe Marler are likely to be aware of each other in the sporting industry.

Since the show first launched in November 2022, the programme has amassed a huge fan base. Earlier this year, when they announced the launch of a celebrity version, I had reservations.

The beauty of The Traitors is that 22 strangers are pitted against each other in order to win money for themselves or a loved one. Regardless of one's profession, people will do almost anything once money is on the table. It's raw and emotional.

However, for this, the winner will give their £100,000 prize money to their chosen charity. So, personally, for these celebrities, there isn't a huge overriding motive. There is a complete lack of stakes.

They will have probably researched the first three seasons and done their homework, but I feel like Claudia has just invited a bunch of her mates up north to Scotland for a holiday. It lacks any genuine, human drama.

It'll be interesting to see how different the celebrity version is, but I hope they stay true to the traditional format and avoid any crazy twists. The Traitors serves as an excellent example of TV entertainment. I just hope the celebrity version doesn't ruin it for the future.

Celebrity Traitors can now be streamed on BBC iPlayer.

2025-10-13T04:04:53Z