BBC’s The Traitors has returned, and this time the iconic Scottish castle is packed with 19 celebrities certain they have what it takes to win the grand prize of up to £100,000 for their chosen charities.
The reality game show hosted by the inimitable Claudia Winkleman took the nation by storm when it first hit our screens in 2022, and last night’s premiere saw some of the nations favourite famous faces take on the game for the first time; with the likes of Celia Imrie, Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross and Tom Daley eager to prove their traitor-hunting prowess.
If you thought the celebrities were the only twist to the series, the immediate turn around of the Land Rover convoy (rather than depositing the contestants at the castle as we have come to expect with previous series) serves as a reminder to never get too comfortable in the Traitors world — nothing is ever as it seems.
Winkleman, as ever, is deadpan and fabulous — if you expected special treatment towards her celebrity pals, you’d be wrong. She has them scrabbling in dirt, literally digging their own graves, within the first ten minutes.
The celebrities are as excited to meet each other as they are to be taking part. However, the game usually thrives on the ability of its contestants to deceive, but in this version the celebrities do not have the advantage of being unknown, and as such fall victim to preconceived ideas. Actress Ruth Codd notes her suspicions of broadcaster Kate Garraway, “Ordinarily she would strike me as the type of person that would give up a shield.”
Similarly, there is inequality amongst the group as while some contestants are firm friends, like comedian Alan Carr and singer Paloma Faith, others, like Codd, don’t know anyone. The regular Traitors series has seen contestants who know each other outside of the castle’s walls take part before but they were in the minority, and whilst familiarity hasn’t always served them well, this is a whole different game.
With there being no ‘murder’ by the chosen Traitors or a Round Table as yet (a famously explosive segment which has seen many a brutal scene play out), it remains to be seen just how far these celebrities are willing to go to play the game. With their public images at stake, PR teams may have advised their celebs to be on their best behaviour, but they’re only human after all.
The Celebrity Traitors will be playing out over nine episodes, airing on BBC One each Wednesday and Thursday over the rest of the month.
Catch up on the premiere and watch the rest of the series on BBC iPlayer.
Words by Kirsty Dow
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