The Traitors (British TV series)

The Traitors (also known as The Traitors UK outside of the UK) is a British reality television series broadcast on BBC One, based on the Dutch series De Verraders, which premiered on 29 November 2022 and is hosted by Claudia Winkleman.

The Traitors
Also known asThe Traitors UK
Genre
  • Reality
  • Game show
Based onDe Verraders
by Marc Pos
Presented byClaudia Winkleman
Theme music composerSam Watts[1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes12
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time59 minutes
Production companyStudio Lambert
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release29 November 2022 (2022-11-29) –
present

Following the premise of other versions of De Verraders, the show features a group of contestants participating in a game similar to the party game Mafia – In which a small group of contestants become the titular "Traitors", and must work together to eliminate the other contestants in order to win a grand prize, while the remaining contestants become "Faithful" and are tasked to discover and banish the Traitors by voting them out, to win the grand prize.

The first week's episodes were uploaded onto BBC iPlayer following the airing of the first, with each subsequent episode being available on BBC One only before being uploaded to iPlayer.[2][3][4]

On 27 February 2023, the BBC announced that the show had been renewed for a second series, with Winkleman returning to host.[5]

Format

22 strangers arrive at a castle in the Scottish Highlands as "Faithful" contestants – hoping to share a prize fund worth up to £120,000. Among them are the "Traitors" – a group of contestants selected by host Claudia Winkleman on the first day, whose goal is to eliminate the Faithfuls and claim the prize for themselves. Should the Faithful contestants eliminate all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund, but if any Traitors make it to the end, they win the money instead.

Each night, the Traitors come together and decide upon one Faithful contestant to "murder" – and that person will leave the game immediately. The remaining Faithful contestants will not know who has been eliminated until the following day when that person does not enter the Castle for breakfast. The group then take part in a mission to win money for the prize fund. Some challenges will also offer an opportunity for players to visit the Armoury – during which one player will randomly and secretly be awarded the Shield – which awards the player immunity from being Murdered, but not from the Banishment Vote. An attempted murder on the shield holder will result in no player being eliminated by Murder.

At the end of each day, the players will participate in a Round Table, where the players discuss who to vote out before individually voting for a player to be banished. Players cast their votes privately before revealing their votes in turn to everyone once all votes are locked-in, and may give a brief rationale for the vote. The person who received the most votes for banishment is banished from the game and must reveal their affiliation.[lower-alpha 1] If a Traitor is eliminated, the remaining Traitors may be given the option to recruit a Faithful to join them. If the Faithful accepts, they become a Traitor from that point on.[6]

Production
The series was filmed at Ardross Castle (pictured in 2003)

The UK show was ordered by the BBC in October 2021, following the airing of the Dutch series earlier that year. The series was to be produced by Studio Lambert Scotland.[7]

The show was recorded in May 2022,[8] and action took place at Ardross Castle[9] in Scotland.

Presenter Claudia Winkleman was initially hesitant to host the programme but after watching the Dutch series became "obsessed" and jokingly "booked a train to Scotland".[10]

In May 2023 Studio Lambert revealed 40,000 people had applied to take part in the second series, in comparison with 1,500 who'd applied for series one.[11] On 1 September 2023 it was announced that filming had begun. [12]

Contestants

22 contestants competed on the first series of The Traitors. In a minor twist, Alex & Tom had a pre-existing relationship as they were dating before competing in the series.[13]

Amos and Kieran were apparently banished from the game, on arrival at the castle, after placing themselves in a line as least likely to win the show. However, they were both reintroduced to the show in a twist during episode 5.[14]

List of The Traitors contestants
Contestant Age From Occupation Affiliation Finish
Aisha Birley 23 Manchester,
England		 Masters Graduate Faithful Murdered
(Episode 2)[15]
Nicky Wilding 45 South Croydon,
England		 Accounts supervisor Banished
(Episode 2)[15]
Claire Barratt 43 Hull,
England		 Ex-police officer & entrepreneur Murdered
(Episode 3)[15]
Imran Nasim 23 Burgess Hill,
England		 Scientist Banished
(Episode 3)[15]
Ivan Brett 32 Polruan,
England		 Author Banished
(Episode 4)[15]
John McManus 49 Edinburgh,
Scotland		 Spa therapist Murdered
(Episode 5)[15]
Tom Elderfield 24 Chesham,
England		 Magician Banished
(Episode 5)[15]
Matt Harris 23 Hertfordshire,
England		 BMX Athlete Murdered
(Episode 6)[15]
Alyssa Chan 21 Cork,
Republic of Ireland		 Business student Traitor Banished
(Episode 6)[15]
Rayan Rachedi 25 North London,
England		 Trainee lawyer Faithful Banished
(Episode 7)[15]
Alex Gray 26 London,
England		 Presenter & actress Murdered
(Episode 8)[15]
Amos Ogunkoya 30 North London,
England		 Doctor
Theo Mayne 26 Leeds,
England		 Cheerleading coach Banished
(Episode 9)[15]
Fay Greaves 59 Bury St Edmunds,
England		 Head of School Welfare Murdered
(Episode 10)[15]
Amanda Lovett 54 Swansea,
Wales		 Estate agent Traitor Banished
(Episode 10)[16]
Andrea Addison 72 Brussels, Belgium Retired Faithful Murdered
(Episode 11)[17]
Madelyn "Maddy" Smedley 29 Swanley,
England		 Receptionist & actress Banished
(Episode 11)[18]
Kieran Tompsett 42 Stevenage,
England		 Solutions consultant Faithful Banished
(Episode 12)[19]
Traitor
Wilfred "Wilf" Webster 28 North London,
England		 Senior fundraiser Traitor
Aaron Evans 24 Portsmouth,
England		 Property agent Faithful Winner
(Episode 12)[20]
Hannah Byczkowski 32 London,
England		 Comedian
Meryl Williams 25 Edinburgh,
Scotland		 Call centre agent

Voting history
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Traitor's
Decision		 None Aisha Claire Alex
Ivan
John		 John Matt Alex Alex Amos[lower-alpha 2] Fay Kieran Andrea None
Murder On trial[lower-alpha 3] Murder Offer[lower-alpha 4] Murder Meet[lower-alpha 5] Murder
Banishment Amos, Kieran Nicky Imran Ivan Tom Alyssa Rayan None[lower-alpha 6] Theo Amanda Maddy Kieran Banish[lower-alpha 7] Wilfred End game[lower-alpha 7]
Vote Least likely
to win[lower-alpha 8]		 17–1–1 10–6–1 7–6–2–1 7–4–1–1–1 6–5–2–1 7–3–2–1 6–2–2 4–2–1–1 4–2 4–1 2–2 3–1 3-0
Aaron No
vote		 Imran Imran Alex Tom Rayan Maddy No vote Theo Maddy Maddy Kieran Banish Wilfred End game Winners[lower-alpha 9]
(Episode 12)
Hannah Nicky Imran Alex Alex Alyssa Rayan Maddy Amanda Maddy Kieran Banish Wilfred End game
Meryl Nicky Imran Ivan Tom Maddy Rayan Maddy Amanda Maddy Kieran End game Wilfred End game
Wilfred Nicky Aaron Ivan Alex Alyssa Maddy Theo Amanda Maddy Kieran End game Aaron Banished
(Episode 12)
Kieran Eliminated[lower-alpha 8] No vote[lower-alpha 8] Wilfred Rayan Theo Amanda Meryl Wilfred Banished
(Episode 12)
Maddy Nicky Aaron Wilfred Wilfred Wilfred Meryl No vote Aaron Aaron Meryl Banished
(Episode 11)
Andrea Nicky Aaron Hannah Tom Alyssa Rayan No vote Theo Hannah Murdered
(Episode 11)
Amanda Nicky Imran Ivan Alex Alyssa Rayan Theo Maddy Banished
(Episode 10)
Fay Nicky Imran Alex Tom Rayan Maddy Theo Murdered
(Episode 10)
Theo Nicky Imran Alex Tom Wilfred Rayan Aaron Banished
(Episode 9)
Amos Eliminated[lower-alpha 8] No vote[lower-alpha 8] Wilfred Rayan Murdered
(Episode 8)
Alex Nicky Imran Ivan Rayan Alyssa Aaron Murdered
(Episode 8)
Rayan Nicky Aaron Alex Tom Alyssa Aaron Banished
(Episode 7)
Alyssa Nicky Aaron Hannah Alex Wilfred Banished
(Episode 6)
Matt Nicky Imran Ivan Tom Murdered
(Episode 6)
Tom Nicky Imran Ivan Alyssa Banished
(Episode 5)
John Nicky Aaron Ivan Murdered
(Episode 5)
Ivan Nicky Imran Alex Banished
(Episode 4)
Imran Nicky Theo Banished
(Episode 3)
Claire Nicky Murdered
(Episode 3)
Nicky Fay Banished
(Episode 2)
Aisha Murdered
(Episode 2)

Key

  The contestant was a Faithful.
  The contestant was a Traitor.
  The contestant was ineligible to vote.
  The contestant casting this vote was on Trial at this Round Table and were one of the only people subsequently eligible for being Murdered.
  The contestant casting this vote won a Shield and was immune from being murdered, but was still eligible for Banishment.

Notes

  1. As a tie for the highest number of votes never arose during the series, the process that would have been followed in such a case was not revealed.
  2. Amos was murdered during the Dinner Party on Episode 8 by a Traitor giving him a "Kiss of Death". This murder was only revealed to the viewers and the other players during Episode 9's breakfast.
  3. Alex, Ivan & John were put on Trial by the Traitors – they became the only people who could be Murdered the following night.
  4. Instead of choosing to murder a player, the Traitors decided to offer Alex the opportunity to become a Traitor. She declined.
  5. Following Amanda's banishment, Wilfred was offered the chance to meet a Faithful face-to-face and offer them an ultimatum: become as a Traitor or be Murdered. He chose Kieran, who accepted the offer.
  6. There was no Banishment, as Claudia hosted a dinner party for the players. At the party, they Played a "Party Game". Starting with Amanda (who volunteered), each player selected the player who they most trusted. This chain went on until Maddy was the only player left. She was offered the £3,000 from that day's Mission as a bribe to leave the game. She declined.
  7. Following Kieran's Banishment, the final 4 players participated in the Endgame and were given a choice to either Banish or End Game – A unanimous End Game vote would result in either: 1) all remaining Traitors being declared as winners, or 2) Should no Traitors be remaining, all remaining players declared winning Faithfuls. In either outcome, the prize would be shared among the winners. A single vote to Banish would result in another Banishment Vote, followed by another choice between “Banish” or “End Game”.
  8. Kieran and Amos appeared to be eliminated from the game in Episode 1 as the players who stated they were least likely to win. They were re-introduced to the game in Episode 5[14] when it was revealed that the eliminated players were only those who had been Banished by Vote or Murdered by a Traitor. Upon their reintroduction, Kieran and Amos could not vote, be voted for or be murdered that night.
  9. As only Faithful were remaining at the end of the game, Aaron, Hannah and Meryl were declared the winners of the game.

Missions
Episode Task description Money earned Running total Shield winner
1 Split into two teams to build a fuse and set fire to a wicker man. While one half of each team was searching debris on the side of the lake for rope to create the fuse, the other half had to row back across the lake with a torch to light their fuse. The first fuse lit was worth £10,000 and the second £5,000. £15,000

of £15,000

 £15,000

of £15,000

 No Shield on offer
2 Eight of the contestants had to ring the bells of the nearby chapel to play a tune, while the remaining contestants searched the Castle for a music box that was playing the same tune. Each music box contained an item – a larger version of which was hidden in the Castle. Each correct item brought back was worth £2,000 for the prize fund. £8,000

of £10,000

 £23,000

of £25,000

3 Five contestants' names were randomly drawn from a tombola and they would be strapped to a revolving funfair wheel, while the remaining contestants answered Mr & Mrs-style questions. For each answer that matches with someone on the wheel, they would earn £100 for the prize fund – and they would also earn a £2,500 bonus if everyone stayed on the wheel for ten minutes. There are two rounds – each with a potential prize of £5,000 to be won. £8,700

of £10,000

 £31,700

of £35,000

4 Split into three teams – led by those on Trial. Each team sent one person into a pen full of sheep while their team described a photo of one of the sheep. The person in the pen had to work out which sheep was being described – and each sheep was wearing a coat with the name of a contestant on it. After each round, more sheep were added. Each correct sheep identified by a team would earn £1,000 for the prize fund and the fastest team would be given the chance to earn an extra £1,000 if they could round up all of the sheep within two minutes. £8,000

of £10,000

 £39,700

of £45,000

5 The contestants were split into two teams and one at a time went into the confessional booth to hear a page and paragraph reference from Claudia. They had to then bring that reference back to Claudia and use The Book of Traitors to find a riddle – leading to a clothing item worn by one member of the masked congregation. Only the first team to identify an item counted, and each correctly-identified item earned £2,000 for the pot. The team who identifies the most correct items fastest would be given the first opportunity to visit the Armoury and potentially earn a Shield. In addition, Amos and Kieran were revealed after the challenge to be two of the masked congregation.

After a fifth tiebreaker round, Alex, Amanda, Hannah, Meryl, Theo, Tom & Wilfred were sent to the Armoury.

 £8,000

of £8,000

 £47,700

of £53,000

 Tom
6 Split into three teams, two members of each team were buried in underground graves and it was up to the remaining team members to uncover them within 45 minutes. Each person who escaped their grave was worth £1,500 for the prize fund and the fastest team to uncover their two teammates would win a trip to the Armoury. Aaron, Alex, Amanda, Hannah & Theo were the first team to be complete, and were sent to the Armoury. £9,000

of £9,000

 £56,700

of £62,000

 Amanda
7 As a group, the contestants had 45 minutes to transport whisky barrels to an old distillery on the top of a nearby hill. Along the way, they would find more barrels of increasing size worth more money, as well as five barrels which would allow contestants of their choice to enter the Armoury. In addition to £8,400 worth of barrels, three of the five Armoury barrels crossed the finish line – and Andrea, Fay & Theo were chosen to enter the Armoury. £8,400

of £10,000

 £65,100

of £72,000

 Fay
8 Split into two teams, contestants had to escape a Fishing cabin-themed escape room. For each team who escaped, they would add £3,000 to the prize fund – and the fastest team to escape would be given the opportunity to enter the Armoury. Only the Green Team – Fay, Hannah, Kieran, Maddy, Meryl and Wilfred – escaped in the time limit, and they entered the Armoury. £3,000

of £6,000

 £68,100

of £78,000

 Maddy
9 Split into three teams, contestants would drive a route and encounter True or False statements. If they pick the incorrect answer, they would hit a dead end. Teams had 45 minutes to complete their route, and each team who completed the route would earn £2,000 for the prize fund. The fastest team to complete the route would also be given the opportunity to enter the Armoury, where one of them would win the Shield. The Blue Team – Kieran, Meryl & Wilfred – were the first team back and won their tickets to the Armoury. £6,000

of £6,000

 £74,100

of £84,000

 Meryl
10 The contestants were given twenty minutes to individually make their way through a room and steal artifacts which were protected by lasers. Each artifact was worth a set amount of money for the prize fund. Breaking a laser would cost the group one minute of time and any artifacts being carried would be lost. After all eight contestants have made an attempt, they are then given a second opportunity. On their first pass, only Wilfred (£2,000) and Aaron (£1,000) collected artifacts and on their second pass, Wilfred (£400) and Kieran (£300) collected artifacts. There was a shield among the artifacts which would keep them safe from murder, but no-one went for it. £3,700

of £7,000

 £77,800

of £91,000

 None
11 Suspended over a rickety bridge above a river are bags with different values – ranging from £500 to £2,000. One at a time, blindfolded contestants will go out onto the bridge and be guided by their teammates to collect bags. They have eight minutes each to get their money across the bridge – anyone who falls is out, alongside their money. Only Meryl (£500), Maddy (£750) and Aaron (£2,000) got across the bridge – adding £3,250 to the prize fund. £3,250

of £7,000

 £81,050

of £98,000

 No Shield on offer
12 Dotted around Loch Glass are moneybags totalling £20,000. The two strongest swimmers – Aaron & Hannah – had to jump out of a helicopter to swim to a pair of buoys to get the combination to find speedboat keys and a map in a box. The remaining three then had to collect the swimmers before they used the speedboat to find the moneybags in four separate locations over the ten miles of coastline within 30 minutes. £20,000

of £20,000

 £101,050

of £118,000

Episodes
No.
overall		No. in
series		Title [21]Original air dateUK viewers
(millions) [22]
11"Episode 1"29 November 2022 (2022-11-29)3.88
22"Episode 2"30 November 2022 (2022-11-30)3.14
33"Episode 3"1 December 2022 (2022-12-01)<2.71[lower-alpha 1]
44"Episode 4"6 December 2022 (2022-12-06)3.33
55"Episode 5"7 December 2022 (2022-12-07)3.13
66"Episode 6"8 December 2022 (2022-12-08)3.37
77"Episode 7"13 December 2022 (2022-12-13)3.76
88"Episode 8"15 December 2022 (2022-12-15)[lower-alpha 2]3.75
99"Episode 9"16 December 2022 (2022-12-16)[lower-alpha 2]3.60
1010"Episode 10"20 December 2022 (2022-12-20)4.09
1111"Episode 11"21 December 2022 (2022-12-21)4.32
1212"Episode 12"22 December 2022 (2022-12-22)4.73

Notes
  1. This episode did not make it into the top 50 most viewed programmes of the week and therefore full figures are not available.
  2. This episode was originally scheduled for the night before, however it was rescheduled due to changes to the BBC schedule for this week due to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Reception

Critical reception

The series was generally well received by critics, who praised the programme for being "fresh, yet familiar", likening it to party games such as Mafia or wink murder.[23][24] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian says the format "feels like a revival of the early, more innocent days of reality TV", calling it "The White Lotus meets Big Brother 1".[25] The Tab, believed that social media helped the success of the show: "The memes and everyone live-tweeting it has played a big part in its success. Nobody wants to miss out on a reality TV show that everyone is talking about."[23] Isobel Lewis of The Independent was more critical, however, saying it "definitely isn't a perfect reality show, or even the best in its genre right now, but it is pretty entertaining."[26]

Viewership

The series saw an average audience of 5.4 million, with a peak of 6.2 million for the first episode. By the end of February 2023, The Traitors had been viewed over 34 million times on BBC iPlayer.[5]

The BBC stated that The Traitors was the biggest new series for young audiences across all BBC content in 2022, with a 1.3 million average audience across the series and a peak of 1.5 million for the final.[5]

Awards and nominations
Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
2023 28th National Television Awards Reality Competition The Traitors Won
Edinburgh International Television Festival Best Entertainment The Traitors Won
2023 TV Times Awards Best Presenter Claudia Winkleman Pending
Best Entertainment Show The Traitors Pending
British Academy Television Awards Best Reality and Constructed Factual The Traitors Won
Best Entertainment Performance Claudia Winkleman Won
Memorable Moment The Traitors: The final roundtable Nominated
Royal Television Society Programme Awards Entertainment The Traitors Won
Entertainment Performance Claudia Winkleman Won
2024 2024 TV Choice Awards Best Reality Show The Traitors Pending

International broadcast

In Australia, the series was made available to stream on 10 Play in March 2023, as a companion to the Australian version aired by the network.[27]

In the United States, the show is available to stream on Peacock, the broadcaster of the American version.[28]

In Canada, the show is available to stream on Crave.[29] The Canadian version of the series began on Oct. 2nd, 2023 The Traitors

In New Zealand, the show is available to stream on ThreeNow, the same broadcaster of the New Zealand version.[30]

Aftermath

Contestant Maddy Smedley urged others to think carefully about applying for the next series, and said she "wouldn’t recommend it for people for their sanity and mental health".[31]

After the first series, the BBC launched a Traitors card game and puzzle book were released. In September 2023 a board game, called The Traitors, was released.[32]

References
  1. "Sam Watts | Composer – Film and television composer". Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  2. Dubey, Shivani (11 November 2022). "Strictly's Claudia Winkleman to host BBC's psychological reality competition The Traitors". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  3. Duke, Simon (8 December 2022). "The Traitors remaining episodes dates confirmed by BBC". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. "The Traitors: Why viewers became so loyal to the BBC reality series". BBC News. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. "The BBC is 100% faithful to The Traitors as series two confirmed". www.bbc.co.uk. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  6. "BBC One – The Traitors – The Traitors: How the Show Works". BBC. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  7. Shaun Linden (5 October 2021). "Psychological adventure series 'The Traitors' for BBC One". ATV Today. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  8. Brett, Ivan (21 December 2022). "Ivan 🗡️ The Traitors on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  9. Metro (26 November 2022). "The Traitors: Where is the BBC One series filmed? All about Ardross Castle". MetroUK. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  10. "Claudia Winkleman originally turned down The Traitors hosting role". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  11. Lewis, Isobel (17 May 2023). "The Traitors producers tease series 2 tagline after 40,000 people apply". Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  12. Nisbet, Megan (1 September 2023). "BBC The Traitors bosses warn 'the game is going to be different' in exciting series 2 update". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  13. Baxter-Wright, Dusty (12 December 2022). "Are Alex and Tom from The Traitors still together?". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  14. Meghna Amin (7 December 2022). "Ex-Traitors return to game in shock twist after being evicted by Claudia Winkleman". Metro. London. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  15. Westbrook, Caroline (23 December 2022). "The Traitors: Who was eliminated from the series and how did they leave?". MSN News. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  16. Megan Nisbet (21 December 2022). "BBC The Traitors viewers stunned as Welsh contestant Amanda Lovett is banished after Wilfred betrayal". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  17. Rowan, Iona (22 December 2022). "The Traitors favourite Andrea was "pissed off" at being murdered before the final". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  18. Allday, Jasmine (22 December 2022). "Banished The Traitors star slams 'cowardly' co-stars as she fumes over exit". Mirror. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  19. Wheeler, Olivia (22 December 2022). "The Traitors fans label Kieran's 'brutal' final remark as 'TV moment of year'". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  20. "The Faithful win The Traitors – Aaron, Hannah and Meryl reveal how they feel". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  21. "The Traitors – Episode guide". BBC One. Choose appropriate episode. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  22. "Most Viewed Programmes (See relevant week(s))". BARB.
  23. McIntosh, Steven (22 December 2022). "The Traitors: Why viewers became so loyal to the BBC reality series". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  24. Long, Camilla (4 December 2022). "The Traitors: I'm a TV critic, get me out of here". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  25. Nicholson, Rebecca (19 December 2022). "I'm 100% faithful: The Traitors is the most exquisite reality TV of the year". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  26. Lewis, Isobel (29 November 2022). "The Traitors might not be very Christmassy, but it sure is fun – review". The Independent. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  27. "Sleep with One Eye Open: Traitors US and Traitors UK Now Available on 10 Play". 23 March 2023.
  28. "UK, Australian versions of the Traitors uncovered by Peacock for US".
  29. "U.K., U.S. & Australian Versions of "The Traitors" Now Streaming on Crave". 9 April 2023.
  30. "New to streaming: What to watch on Netflix NZ, Neon and more this week". 4 September 2023.
  31. Jamie Body (23 January 2023). "Traitors star Maddy Smedley cautions actors against appearing in reality series". The Stage.
  32. Kate Goodacre (September 2023). "The Traitors board game is finally available to buy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
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