Whether you watch The Traitors for the reality game show’s murder-mystery intrigue, Claudia Winkleman‘s outfits, or both, we’ve got some very exciting news for you: after much speculation, a celebrity edition is finally on its way – and it’ll be hitting our small screens sooner than expected.
The BBC has announced what we’d all been hoping for, revealing that Celebrity Traitors will be a nine-part series landing sometime in 2025. Further details are pretty scant right now, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear of a more specific release date, as well as which celebrities are taking part. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up the amazing rumoured cast below, but must stress that nothing has been confirmed just yet.
While we wait impatiently, we’ll have the third series of the non-celebrity version to entertain us, which returns on New Year’s Day. Plus, the BBC has announced that the format has been renewed for series four, so we’ll also have that to look forward to in 2026. In short, The Traitors is going nowhere, meaning plenty more of Claudia’s top-tier winter fashion inspiration for years to come (yes, don’t worry, she’s already been confirmed to host).
Mike Cotton, Creative Director Unscripted at Studio Lambert and Executive Producer for The Traitors, said: “We are thrilled to be inviting some celebrities into our castle to come and play the game. Seeing famous faces navigate the round table or don the infamous green cloaks will be unmissable TV, and what a double treat for the fans with series four also confirmed too. There’s a whole lot of exciting treachery and deception yet to come from the Highlands. Claudia’s going to have to pack some extra knitwear.”
Kalpna Patel-Knight, the BBC’s head of entertainment, 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!”
Celebrity Traitors has already been done in the US, with former House of Commons speaker John Bercow starring, but it remains to be seen which famous faces will sign up here. Match of the Day host Gary Lineker is the latest rumoured star to be heading to the castle, while actor Danny Dyer, Olympic diver Tom Daley, comedian Alan Carr, chat show host Jonathan Ross and Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball have all been touted to appear.
It’s Friends star Courtney Cox that we’re most hoping to see on the lineup, though, and the odds are in our favour so far. Why? Because Courtney is a close friend of Claudia’s, which we reckon could persuade her to sign on the dotted line. We’d also love to watch Stephen Fry as a Traitor, which presumably he’d have to be because he’s far too clever to be a Faithful – the show wouldn’t last two minutes. The national treasure recently told Radio 2, “I’ve heard rumours that I’m in it but I’m not allowed to comment,” which sounds hopeful to us.
Claudia, meanwhile, has previously revealed that some of the names on her ‘hit list’ include Stephen Fry, Alison Hammond, Kirsty Young, Adam Woodyatt and Victoria Coren. Her friend Rylan Clark is certainly keen, with the Strictly Takes Two presenter telling Radio Times that he would “go to town” on the show. “Literally every time I see Claudia, I’m like, ‘Why has this not been done? Sort it out or I’ll cut your fringe off, babe.”
Then there’s Tess Daly, Claudia’s co-presenter on Strictly Come Dancing, who bookies are tipping to join Celebrity Traitors with her husband, fellow presenter Vernon Kay. Tennis player Andy Murray and his mum Judy are another family duo we might see, as well as This Country creators Charlie Cooper and Daisy May Cooper.
New to The Traitors, which debuted in 2022, and not sure what we’re going on about? Well, this gripping whodunnit is set in a grand castle in the Scottish Highlands (hence all the must-have knitwear and coats). It follows a group of contestants as they attempt to uncloak and banish the ‘Traitors’ hiding among them before all the ‘Faithfuls’ are killed off. The aim as a Faithful is to make it to the end in a bid to win a share of a cash prize, while a Traitor hopes to maintain their secrecy, end up the last man or woman standing, and take it all…
Fancy yourself as a cunning Traitor or smart Faithful? If you’re aged 18 or over you can apply online right now for season four. The closing date is 9 February 2025.
Pauline Quirke starred in Birds of a Feather alongside Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson (Image: ITV)Pauline Quirke, the beloved Birds of a Feather actress, endure
Comcast-owned Sky has taken the checkered flag and will exclusively show the feature documentary Hill about Formula 1 star Damon Hill in the U.K.
Christmas Day 1977 saw an extraordinary 21.4million people tuned in to BBC One to watch the Mike Yarwood Christmas special, which featured Paul McCartney perfor
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviewsSign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts ne